I don't know exactly why my heart was beating so rapidly when he hugged me. Jongin was my girlfriend's brother. In so many clichés, you're supposed to hate the boyfriend/girlfriend of your sibling, or vice versa. But Jongin was different. I tutored him, meaning more time together and getting to know each other more. He was always nice to me, which is a good thing, I'm not complaining. And in one way or another, he made me absolutely happy to see him.

When he hugged me, all I could do was stand there, my heart beating faster than it ever did before, and my face a crimson color. The strange thing is that I didn't push him away from me. I let him hug me. I let his warmth touch my body. A tingling feeling churned inside me.

Deciding to push that away, we cooked together. Luckily, he didn't chop his finger off, like he did the first time he tried to cook with me. And he didn't burn the house down.

"Alright," I said, turning the heat down on the pot of soup we were making, "this needs to cook for maybe an hour to an hour in-a-half, and it should be done."

Jongin stretched out his arms, his tee riding up his stomach, revealing a bit of his abs. Why am I staring?

"How'd I do?" Jongin asked with a big smile, like a child would when he accomplished something.

I smiled at him, patting his shoulder. "You did well. I'm proud of you."

"I'm home!" Youngmi called from the entrance way. She came into the kitchen, hair up in a ponytail and her workout clothes on. She hugged Jongin briefly, greeting her younger brother. She saw me, smiled and pecked my cheek. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Making dinner. I'm starving and have absolutely no energy to cook. I'm exhausted."

A smile creeped up to my lips. "Anytime. It was a reward for Jongin though."

"Oh?"

"He did well in our tutoring session, so I give him food in return."

"You're so sweet to him, you know that? It's a good thing." She said sadly, resting her head in the crook of my neck.

I her dark ponytail. She had told me before we started dating that she and Jongin had an older brother. He was kind and playful, and sweet, from what she told me. However, both her parents and her brother died in a fire. Youngmi was sixteen, Jongin fifteen. It broke my heart that they had to go through that at a young age. I had both my parents and my older brother. They lost them. It made me feel bad. I had something that they once had.

A family.

|•~•||•~•||•~•|

"I think you like him." My friend, Baekhyun, said point-blankly.

As he said that, I was taking a sip of water from my water bottle, causing me to almost choke on it.

"No need to choke, I was just saying."

I swallowed, glaring at him. "Why do you say I like him? I like Youngmi."

"Youngmi's sweet and all." He shrugged his shoulders. "But the way you're on about her brother is much different than Youngmi."

"I don't get it."

Baekhyun smiled. "It's okay. You'll realize it soon."

I shot him a look of confusion. First, he wasn't acting like his diva self, which was weird for him. Second, I had absolutely no freaking idea what he was trying to say. I liked Youngmi. I liked her a lot. She was really sweet and warm-hearted. In many ways, she resembled Jongin.

Why am I on about him again? He's my girlfriend's brother, and I'm his tutor. Nothing more.

Suddenly my cell started buzzing. I took it out of my pocket, seeing Jongin's name plastered on the screen. I pressed the green button and held it up to my ear.

"Yeah?"

"Hyung, can you pick me up from school?" My heart started picking up its pace at the sound of Jongin's voice

"Why?" I questioned, furrowing my eyebrows.

He sighed. "I missed the bus, and can't seem to get a ride from anyone else. Noona's busy with classes. You're the only other person I can call."

I looked out the window of the café I was sitting in with Baekhyun. It was downpouring. I stood up, slipping my jacket on. "Yeah. I'll be right there. Do you have dance classes today?"

"How come?"

A smiled formed on my lips. "I need to know if I need to drop you off at home or at the dance studio, silly."

"In that case, just drop me off at home."

"If you think you're escaping from the tutoring session today, you're highly mistaken, kkamjong."

He groaned. But I heard the smile in his voice. "Araseo, hyung. Come quickly, it's cold."

I put my phone back in my pocket. "I gotta drive Jongin home. I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

Baekhyun smiled again. "Have fun."

|•~•||•~•||•~•|

"Damn it, it's cold out there!" Jongin exclaimed, sliding into the driver's seat.

"Winter is coming." I said, moving the car toward his home.

"Ugh, winter...every year always disappears, huh?"

I came to a stoplight, glancing at him. I stared at his beautiful features. His dark, wet hair stuck to his sun-kissed skin. He had pretty dark, soft, round eyes. His lips were full, not as full as mine are, but still beautiful. His jawline was sharp and y. Everything about him, I realized, was y. Beautiful. Attractive.

He turned to me. I saw his face turn a slight pink against his tan skin. I looked away quickly, the light turning green. Did he notice I was staring at him?

We got to his house, in awkward silence. We went inside hurriedly. I asked how his test went. He answered with a shrug of his shoulders. We did our tutor session and ended up finishing early.

The whole time, I was entranced by him.

The way certain words slipped off his tongue.

The way his lips moved while talking.

The way he scrunched his nose when he laughed.

The way he tended to my finger when I received a paper cut.

It all made me feel...happy. He made me feel like I had a purpose. To be there for him.

After finishing our session, we sat in his living room together, watching some sitcom. We exchanged glances every so often. And every time we looked away, or stared at each other for even a mere few seconds, I found myself blushing.

Was this happening? Do I actually like my girlfriend's brother? My tutor student?

Then I thought about what Baekhyun said.

"You talk about him much different than you do with Youngmi."

"...you like him."

"You'll realize it soon."

The more I thought about those words, the more they made sense to me.

I was falling for Kim Jongin.