As if he was the owner of your house, he slumped onto the sofa in the living room and rested his legs on the small tea table. You put your hands on your waist and tried to cool yourself down. Something about Hoya could always tick you off easily than others. “Hoya.”

“You have a nice house.” Hoya commented as he ignored your anger. “Maybe I can move in with you one day.” He smirked.

“YAH! LEE HOWON!” You rubbed your aching forehead. *What has gone wrong with him today? Why is he being so persistent?*

“~~~~~. Is this how you treat your guest? Can I get a cup of water?” He simply said.

You stared at him, bewildered. “Don’t you know what time is it now? You have school tomorrow, Hoya. Now you should go back home.”

“No, I don’t want to.” He folded his arms and shut his eyes, pretending to have dozed off on your couch.

“Stop it, Hoya.” You sighed. “Go home now….” You walked towards him and wanted to pull him off your coach. You took his wrist and tried to drag him away.

However, Hoya did not move at all. Instead, he twisted his arms away from your grip and grabbed your wrist. With a tug, you lost balance and fell to the couch beside him.

Before you could protest, Hoya flipped over and pinned you down. “Why did you do it?” He glared at you, demanding an explanation for the kiss that happened a while ago.

You panicked at the dangerous distance between both of you and struggled. “Yah, Lee Howon. What are you d-“

“Are you stupid?!” He suddenly yelled, surprising you.

You froze and stared at him blankly. “H-Hoya?”

“Didn’t you hear that I want to chase you?! DID YOU DO IT ON PURPOSE?” He maligned, unable to contain his jealousy. The scene when Yunho kissed you, kept replaying on his mind. If it was not for Sungyeol who accidentally filmed down the process and showed him the video, he would have been kept in the dark.

“It was an accident! Yunho sunbae doesn’t like me!” You snapped. “If it wasn’t because the camera caught both of us, we would not have kissed!”

You did not know why you explained it to Hoya. But you did not like the way he maligned your relationship with Yunho sunbae.

“Bwoh?” Hoya scoffed. *Judging from the way that Yunho guy looked at her, I’m sure his feelings are definitely different from what she said.*

“It’s the truth.” You insisted and bravely met his eyes. “Yunho and I are just sunbae and hoobae relationship. Nothing more than that.”

“But you like him. Right?” Hoya searched your eyes with anger brewing inside him. *How could she play with my feelings like that?*

You avoided his interrogating gaze. “It doesn’t matter anyway…”

“NO. IT MATTERS!” Hoya exploded. He hated the lonely and lost look you had whenever that guy’s name was mentioned. He hated the way you were thinking of another guy when you were with him. He hated how you fell for someone else. He hated every single little connection and memories you shared with that Yunho guy.

“H-Hoya…” You finally realized that he was really angry this time. You gulped. You did not understand why, but his emotions had affected you and disrupted the inner peace in you. It was as if your heart knew that something would be different between you and him from this moment on.

“D-Don’t be like this… Hoya…” You were a bit afraid. Despite of the bad attitude he had shown you since the first time you met, you were always able to sense his kind heart hidden in his eyes.

However, this was the first time you seen him this mad. You wondered to yourself if he would even punch you in the face.

When Hoya finally sensed the fear and his reflection in your eyes, he felt as if someone had just shot him in the face. *She is afraid of me. This is the first time I’ve ever seen this expression on her.*

He pulled away from you and inhaled deeply. “~~~~.”

You bit your lips, trying to maintain composure. But the strange atmosphere between you and him were making it difficult. “Yes?”

“You know I’ll never give up. I will always get what I want. I don’t quit.” He muttered before leaving.

You looked at the direction Hoya went and sighed. “Hoya, you are just being stubborn…”

***

Next day, when you were about to leave home, you found Hoya sitting at your doorstep. He was frowning to himself, deep in thought. You came out of the house and tried to think of a plan while locking your door.

After a whole night of thinking, you decided to play dumb again and treat his confession as some kind of child play. After all, Hoya was just a dongsaeng who had many girlfriends and you thought maybe he was just bored of his current ones and wanted to find some new excitement.

*A new excitement… such as dating his counselor noona.* You shook your head and denied the weird disappointment you felt deep inside.

*I need to concentrate in helping him in getting back to a normal life… I’m an adult, not a child. I must hold responsibility for my actions.* For the nth time, you reminded yourself.

After reassuring yourself that you will be able to treat him as usual, you turned to face him.

“Hoya, why are you here today? It’s weekend. We don’t have any session today.” You forced a relaxed smile at him.

Hoya scowled at your careless attitude. *She’s trying to hide in her turtle shell.* “I’m here to find you.”

“Erm… Is there anything?”

“Where are you going?” He asked instead, once again, rudely ignoring your question.

However, you did not mind. To your counseling target, you had more patience than others. “I’m planning to go to the nearby mart and get some ingredients for dinner.”

“Let’s go then.” He took your hand and dragged you towards the nearby supermarket.

“W-Wait. What?” You stared at him in bewilderment.

While making your way between the shelves in the supermarket, you threw weird glances at Hoya who had been quiet all these while and following behind you obediently with the shopping trolley.

*What is he thinking?* You wondered when you mindlessly picked a few apples from the basket.

From behind, Hoya watched you picking the ingredients and he had to admit you looked attractive when doing things he thought that only ‘ahjummas’ would do.

Since young, his mother would treat him like a young master, providing him all the good things she could give. Hoya did not like it, and wanted to find a job. But she insists that he needs to complete his studies, while she worked several part times a day to pay for his expenses.

Gradually, he grew distanced with his mother who was always at work.

This was the first time in a very long time when he went to a supermarket with a female. All the girlfriends he had, were spoilt and just the mention of ‘going supermarket’ would bring disgust to their faces.

Hoya’s face softened, no longer holding that cold poker face. “~~~~. I’ll get that.” He initiated to carry sack of rice for you and carefully placed it in the trolley.

Your eyes widened in surprise. “Thank you.”

“If you’re thankful, cook me dinner tonight.” He smiled.

You blinked. “Why?”

“My umma is going to work till midnight tonight. I don’t have the money to buy dinner.” He lied shamelessly, hiding the fact that his umma has already left him enough money for a good meal.

“Ok.” You agreed immediately, not suspecting his words at all. If there were any weakness in you, it would probably be how easy you trust others.

Hoya gave you a disapproved look from behind. *What if other guys do this to her? Wouldn’t she fall for it too?* Suddenly, he felt mad at the thought and swore to not let anyone else (other than himself) have the chance to trick you.