"Jiro is in fact the young miss' imaginary friend," Genie admitted with her head hung in shame.
Chris' facial muscles tightened and he clenched his teeth tightly. "How could you have let this happen, Genie?" he questioned,  "My sister is obsessed with her own imagination! What an embarassment!" he exclaimed, running a hand through his hair feeling frustrated.
Genie sighed and avoided his gaze. "I'm sorry Young Master. It's just that she was so lonely as a child and Jiro brought her so much happiness. We thought that as she got older, she would make new friends and forget about him but..." she trailed off quietly.

Chris exhaled with stress. "There's no way I'm going to let this continue. Jiro has to disappear before mother and father come home," he told her.
"Isn't that too cruel?" Genie inquired, "Pets has always loved Jiro. She'll be sad if she is separated from him."
"What's cruel is letting her imagination ruin her life!" he barked angrily.

Chris heard a knock on his door and he looked up from his long train of thoughts. "Come in," he said and the door opened slightly. Pets' head soon popped out.

"Ge," she called in a sad tone, "You haven't left your room since you arrived. Please come down and have dinner with us."
He snorted, "Us?" he repeated, "Who is 'us'?"
"Me, Genie, Butler Sun and Jiro of course," she responded which caused him to glare at his wall.
"I wouldn't be caught dead eating with your illusion of a friend, Pets," he sneered, "Now leave. I don't want to hear that stupid name in this house ever again!" he added.

Pets bit her lip and slowly shut the door. She looked sadly over at Jiro who leaned against the wall. He showed her a small smile but she knew he was hurt. "I guess Chris Ge doesn't like me," he chuckled awkwardly. He watched Pets' face become glum and he pinched her nose, showing her a grin, "Come on, it's nothing. Let's go eat, okay?" he suggested and she just nodded silently.

Dinner was eaten in silence no matter how much everyone tried to spark a conversation with Pets. The teenager just didn't utter a word. Jiro sighed and stared at his uneaten food: if Pets couldn't eat then he couldn't either. Maybe it was because she didn't have the energy to imagine him eating or maybe it was because he, himself, didn't want to eat.

After a while, Pets went up to her brother's room. She put down a tray of food on the floor, knocked on his door and then left.

"I don't understand," she muttered as she sat in her room, "I don't understand why he doesn't like you."
Jiro took in a deep breath before catching her gaze, "Maybe it's because I'm not real. I can understand where he's coming from-"
Pets scrunched up the drawing she was working on and threw it his head, "Stop," she interrupted, "Stop saying that!" she told him. "I don't understand where he's coming from because you are real!" she exclaimed. 

Jiro remained silent as she stared at a vase that sat on her window sill. It held the flower Jiro had picked for her on her birthday many years ago and to her, it was the most beautiful flower. But to Jiro, it was a dead flower. It was a flower that was drooping and drying out in the sun. It had lost its life and was only alive in Pets' eyes. In truth, he didn't even pick it for her. It was Genie who picked the flower. It was Genie who wrote the card. He didn't do anything - he couldn't do anything. So how was he real? 

He knew it in his heart that despite how much she meant to him, he was just a dream that she had been living in for over 10 years. The promise he had made to her when they first met stopped her from waking up from this dream and Jiro was bound to her. It wasn't that he didn't like it - he loved Pets. Pets was the only one who treated him like a true friend all day every day and she always gave him attention and he liked that. I'm selfishly ruining her life, he thought, I don't want to leave. I need her as much as she needs me. But like this, I'm tying her to me and preventing the growth of her wings.

The two teenagers sat silently in the room, holding unspoken words in their hearts.
...

"This is Evan," Chris told Pets with his hands over the shoulders of a boy the same age as her. "He's the brother of one of my friends from University, Dean, and he's transferring to your school," he explained.
Pets stared at Evan and then looked back at her brother before looking again at Evan.
"Show him around Taipei and help him get to know our local area," Chris instructed before turning to Evan, "If you have any questions, just ask my sister."
Evan nodded, "Thanks Chris Ge," he replied before Chris walked away.

"Hi," Pets spoke in a quiet voice once her brother had left, "I'm Pets," she showed him a smile but it was a faltering one. Pets was never good with new people and became shy easily. She looked away from him shyly.
"Pets? That's a cute name," Evan responded with a chuckle. A blush crept onto Pets' cheeks and she just looked at her feet.

"Right? We think alike!" Jiro's loud voice came from behind her and then he stood next to her with a grin. He noticed her shyness and smiled. He put a hand on her shoulder, "Pets, Evan is a new friend so let's show him around," he told her and Pets nodded.
She looked up at him and smiled, "Thanks," she said.

Evan watched her movements curiously, noticing that it looked as though she was communicating with an invisible being. He replaced his curiosity with a smile and followed behind her quietly as they walked. 

"Where do you want to go first?" Pets asked slowly after a few minutes of silent walking.
Evan looked around his surroundings. They were on the outskirts so there wasn't much to see or do. "Can we go to the inner city?" he asked with his hands in his pockets.
Pets stopped walking and smiled nervously. She kept her back towards him while Jiro faced her. 'I don't know my way around the city!' she mouthed to her best friend.
He shrugged, "If you don't then I don't either," he replied.
'Jiroooo!' she whined, 'This is going to be so awkward!'

Again, Evan seemed to notice that she was talking to someone else. Maybe she's talking to someone who's behind a tree or something... he thought as he waited patiently for her to turn around answer him.
On cue, Pets turned around only to have his eyes boring into her. He looked at her, expectantly.

"Uh... why don't I show you around the local area first...?" she suggested with a lack of confidence.
"Sure, okay," Evan agreed and just followed behind her.

...

"Young Master, did you introduce Evan to Pets to set them up?" Genie inquired and Chris shook his head.
"I don't want to control my sister's love life and Evan's a good kid so I don't want to use him," Chris explained in response.
"Then what is your purpose in introducing them to each other?" Pets' guardian and housekeeper asked.
"Evan also had a lonely childhood just like Pets. The two of them need a friend like each other. Maybe if they become good friends, my sister will become less dependent on her imagination to keep her company," he told her. 

Genie nodded as she processed the information. She sighed and then looked at him apologetically, "I'm sorry it's gotten to this stage," she muttered.
Chris showed her a smile, "It's okay, Genie. It's not your fault, you were only caring for her," he answered much calmly, "Besides, we have a chance to fix things. She's still a child, she can lose this weird habit of hers easier than if she was an adult," he reassured her. A sigh escaped her lips and Chris stood up and looked at his watch. "Don't worry, Genie. You don't have to worry about her anymore because I'll look after her now," he said with a smile, "Now go, don't keep Danson waiting. You deserve to enjoy life as well."

Genie nodded and stood up. As she turned to leave, she cast the Young Master a smile. "Thank you," she said before leaving the room.

...

"...And this is the park," Pets pointed out as she, Evan and Jiro walked into the park and walked towards the playground. She looked over at Evan who sat down on a swing and looked around. She noticed his bored expression and then quickly turned to Jiro who was yawning.

"Am I that boring?" she asked him in a whisper.
Jiro sighed and nodded. "Even I'm bored," he confessed, "You're just telling him what everything is. You're not actually talking to him."
Pets sighed, "Jiro you know I'm not good with talking to new people," she told him.
Jiro ruffled her hair and smiled, "I know, that's why you should be brave and try to talk to him, even if it's just a sentence," he encouraged her. 
She looked at him with unease. 
"Don't worry, Pets," he said softly, "I'll always be here to cheer you on." He then gave her a thumbs up and pushed her towards the swing set.

Pets nervously sat down on the swing next to Evan. She cleared and then turned to him, "This park is special to me," she began, earning his attention. "Do you want to know why?" she asked.
His face softened into a smile, "So now you say something?" he chuckled, causing her to blush in embarassment. "Tell me, I'm interested."
Pets watched Jiro approach them and sit on the ground with his legs crossed.
"This is where I met Jiro," she breathed.
"Jiro?" Evan echoed, following her gaze.
"He's my best friend," she told him without turning to face him, "I used to be a lonely child until he came along. He's really special to me and I'm so grateful that he exists."

Jiro's eyes sparkled when he heard her words. He smiled at her and said, "I'm glad I exist too. I'm glad that you're the one who brought me into existence."

His soft voice made her heart flutter and smile widen.

I'm glad we have each other.