Silence followed after the two boys’ outburst of surprise at seeing each other. Yonni was staring alternately between her brother and Leeteuk while Kyuhyun and Sungmin simply stared at Leeteuk. The looks on both their faces were of utter surprise.

“Do you two know each other?”

“Hee… Heechul ah! I think you should blow out the candles first,”

Yonni’s unanswered question was interrupted by Leeteuk’s cautious statement. As if broken out of a trance, Heechul hurriedly took a deep breath and blew out the candles, along with the hesitant clapping of the other three boys.

How did Heechul oppa get to know Leeteuk oppa? Are they classmates or something?

The thought kept haunting Yonni as she brought the cake to the kitchen to cut into portions for everyone. Sungmin and Kyuhyun were helping her to bring out all the prepared dishes onto the dining table while Leeteuk and Heechul had retired to the balcony to speak in private.

By the time she exited the kitchen, everyone was seated around the table and there were two empty seats left- one beside Sungmin and another beside Leeteuk. Feeling responsible for Leeteuk since she was the one who invited him to this party, she chose to sit beside the older boy, unaware of the jealous glances that Sungmin kept shooting in her direction.

It was a rather joyful dinner, with conversations sprouting up from all around the dining table while the five young people savoured the food that Yonni had painstakingly prepared.

"I'm so full..."
 

"Of course you are full! You ate so much! The food is good right?"
 

"I'm just eating in a form of respecting the chef. The food taste like dishwater,"
 

"YAH! CHO KYUHYUN! Do you want to die?"
 

"Will the two of you stop arguing for just one day? It's my birthday!"
 

"Oppa! Why are you not helping me?"
 

"I think the food is great."
 

"Sungmin hyung! Just stand on my side for once, can't you?"
 

"I stand on the side of justice,"
 

"And by justice you are referring to Yonni right?"
 

"Teuk ah, let's go try the kinect machine they got me. Leave the scrabbling to the children,"
 

"Oppa! I want to play too! Kyuhyun shall do the dishes tonight!"

Throwing her last sentence hastily at Kyuhyun, Yonni skipped in the direction of the living room while dragging Heechul and Leeteuk on her either side, leaving a very stunned Kyuhyun gaping after her retreating back. Silently, Sungmin began to pick up the dishes before heading towards the kitchen while Kyuhyun yelled out his objections to no avail.

It took Heechul and Leeteuk around 15 minutes to set up the machine and by the time they were done, Kyuhyun and Sungmin were done with all the dishes and had rejoined the trio and took the last two remaining armchairs.

After browsing through the few copies of the games that that were available, the group finally decided on playing “Dance Central”. Yonni, feeling too apprehensive as she was the only girl present, refused to join in the first few games, choosing instead to watch the funny play-through from the sidelines.

The plays were hilarious. Especially the play involving Kyuhyun and Heechul. The duo, having long limbs, kept hitting each other as they moved according to the movements being displayed on the TV screen. The funniest moment was when Kyuhyun accidentally punched Heechul whilst trying to do the ‘wave’, resulting in the latter chasing him down around the entire house in order to exact revenge, much to the amusement of Yonni and Sungmin. Teardrop however, was frightened by the loud hollers of the enraged Heenim, and sought shelter at the balcony, refusing to go anywhere near the living room.

“Yonni! Come on! Just try it once!”

Sungmin, who had just completed a game with Heechul, said as he nudged Yonni gently, trying to get her to her feet. Mortified, Yonni shook her head profusely as she turned around in her seat and held on to the back of the couch tight, resisting Kyuhyun’s attempt to drag her off her seat.
 

“I don’t want! I’ll look so ridiculous!”

No matter how much the three evil housemates begged or threatened, the poor girl simply refused to get up from her seat. Pitying Yonni who seemed to be losing her battle with her housemates, Leeteuk, who had also been just an audience so far, offered his help.

“How about I do it with you? It will be my first try too!”

Surprised at Leeteuk’s sudden words, Kyuhyun stopped in his attempts to pull Yonni from her seat while Yonni simply stared at Leeteuk. Standing up with a big smile on his face, Leeteuk walked over to the playspot in front of the television and beckoned for Yonni to join him.

“They’re never going to let you off unless you play too…”

Eventually, I will be forced to play the game by the boys anyway… If Leeteuk oppa plays with me, I might look less stupid…

Now feeling more assured, Yonni finally got onto her feet to the cheering of the other three boys. Joining Leeteuk at the TV, both players had an apprehensive smile on their faces as they exchanged a look of encouragement.

As the game started, Leeteuk noticed that Yonni wasn’t really enjoying herself from the pained look on her face as she was having difficulties keeping up with the dance routine. Feeling sorry for the girl who was trying her best not to make a fool out of herself, he decided to play the joker in order to lighten up her mood.

“Hey! Look at me! I’m Michael Jackson! Aww~”

Purposely striking the famous pose of the pop singer, Leeteuk winked at Yonni before he tried to do a failed attempt at moon walking. He successfully diverted everyone’s attention from Yonni, who gave him a smile filled with gratitude.

A few games later, everyone had long stopped worrying about looking stupid. Even Yonni, who was initially very apprehensive, had given in to the game and was no longer worried about looking silly. In fact, she seemed to be having much more fun than the other boys, waving her arms and legs around like she’s lost her mind.

However, her wild movements meant that she could not see where she was going, and eventually, she slipped on the corner of the carpet, and seemed doomed to get hurt that night. However, in the last few moment before she hit the ground, Leeteuk managed to catch her around her waist, and saved her from the otherwise painful fall.

In that instant when she fell into Leeteuk’s warm arms, Yonni’s world suddenly went all silent. She could no longer hear the frantic yells of the other boys, nor the noisy music from the game. Instead, all she heard was the furious thumping of her own heart. All she could see was Leeteuk’s big round eyes, and all she felt was the sudden light-headedness as all the blood in her body rushed to her face.

“Are you okay?”

Leeteuk’s concerned words broke Yonni out from her trance. Blushing furiously as Leeteuk righted her onto her feet, she lowered her head as she nodded furiously, lest the boys noticed her flushing face. Her heart was still raging though, and she could literally taste the thumping of her heart in . Throwing out an excuse that she needed to go to the washroom, she hurriedly moved away from Leeteuk.

Only in the safety of the bathroom then did she finally let the breath she had been holding in out. Looking at the mirror, a flushed girl with dishevelled hair stared back at her. She the tap and started splashing water onto her face, hoping to lower her body temperature in order to get rid of her blushing.

Why am I so nervous? It’s not like something big happened! Leeteuk oppa just caught me! I didn’t even hit the ground!

However, the simple thought of Leeteuk’s name immediately brought up the scene from moments ago. Yonni shook her head furiously, trying to rid herself of the memory as she felt her blush returning with a renewed flourish.

Why am I feeling this way? Why is my heart thumping so fast? I’ve never felt this way before…

Being unable to understand the emotions she was having in her heart, she held her hands up to her chest, feeling the quick vibrations as her heart ran on double time. This was the first time that she had this feeling, and it was a odd thing to feel. The corners of simply refused to go down no matter now many times she tried to stop smiling.

Leeteuk oppa…

Every time she thought of Leeteuk, her heart would began racing again. And she could not stop having thoughts about the boy, making it almost impossible for her to calm down enough to exit the room in a composed state.

The scenes of the events earlier on in the days, where the two of them made sushi together suddenly crept up in her mind, causing her already rapid heart to further miss a beat. Destiny seemed to have had the two of them tightly intertwined together, with them first saving the same cat, then living in the same house, and even sharing the same food.

And we even know the same people…

Feeling light-headed once again as the adrenaline surged through her body at the various thoughts of the sweet dimpled man, a smile once again found its way onto Yonni’s face. She suddenly realised that she had been thinking of the man on many occasions ever since they started meeting regularly because of Teardrops.

Wondering whether he had had his meal when she was eating, wondering if Leeteuk had heard of a joke when she heard one, even looking forward to the day when she would get to meet him for an outing, Yonni was surprised by the realisations.

Why am I thinking of Leeteuk oppa so much? And how did Leeteuk oppa and Heechul oppa know each other? Why were they speaking so secretively at the balcony just now?

“Yonni-ah? Is everything fine? You’ve been in there a long while…”

Sungmin’s concerned voice suddenly rang out from the opposite side of the door, causing the young girl to leapt a foot into the air from surprise. After assuring him that everything was all right, Yonni finally exited the bathroom after one final splash of water onto her flushing face.

She came out just in time to see Leeteuk bidding goodbye to the other two boys. He thanked her for the nice dinner, and promised Heechul that he would pass him his birthday present the next time round he saw him. Feeling an unsatisfied sense of curiosity filling her as she bid goodbye to Leeteuk, Yonni suddenly took Teardrops from his arms and said that she would walk home with him because she wants to spend a little more time with her furry friend. In reality, she needed to get the answer that was slowly consuming her.
 

“Leeteuk oppa, how did you know my oppa? Are you two schoolmates?”
 

As soon as she was out of Heechul’s earshot, Yonni finally asked the question that she was dying to ask the whole night. Heechul never really liked others poking into his business, so she knew that she would only be able to get her answers from Leeteuk.
 

“In a way, yes. But we didn’t know each other from school. We worked together,”
 

“You two worked together? Where?”
 

“At the pub,”
 

“Oh! So you work part time as a server at the pub where my oppa worked at?”
 

“I used to. I don’t do that anymore. I perform with him now,”
 

Perform with him?
 

Yonni was hit by a sudden flashback of the day when they went for Heechul’s concert. She still clearly remembered the way the day turned out for it made their lives hell for almost an entire month. Turning slowly to look at Leeteuk from head to toe, Yonni tried to link him back to the concert. Entering the lift to go downstairs, she continued.
 

“Did you just team up with him recently?”
 

“Not really. We’ve been a band for almost a year now… He’s the drummer and rapper whilst I play the guitar and sing,”
 

Play guitar? Sing?
 

“Oppa, you didn’t happen to have performed with him in a concert at the pub before, did you?”
 

“Yes I did! I think it was about four months ago…”
 

“MWO? SO YOU WERE THE BAST- I mean, you were the one?!”
 

Covering in shock, Yonni almost scolded the word “bastard” out loud. She couldn’t believe the polite and considerate Leeteuk and the rude man they saw at the concert was the same person. Looking at Yonni in puzzlement, Leeteuk didn’t understand why Yonni was so shocked.
 

Then, just as the lift opened to his level, it suddenly occurred to him that she must have been at the concert too. If it was true then she must have seen his out of character behaviour. Feeling the need to clear the air, he invited the confused girl to come into his apartment for a cup of tea.
 

To his surprise, Yonni agreed readily. Unknown to Leeteuk, Yonni also had a need to fully comprehend the situation. She could not bring herself to believe that Leeteuk was capable of such rude behaviour, and she believed that there must be a reason behind his rude behaviour then. After getting the girl a cup of tea, Leeteuk then settled down on the seat beside her and started explaining himself.
 

“You must have seen my rude behaviour at the concert. Am I right?”
 

“Ne oppa… But you must have your reasons, right?”
 

“Haha! What if that was actually the true me?”
 

“But… I don’t believe it! You disregarded your own safety to save Teardrop! If you were really rude and mean, you wouldn’t have done that!”
 

With a big smile, Leeteuk reached out and ruffled Yonni’s hair. Her innocence and kind personality was starting to get to him, and he couldn’t help but started to show little actions of affections of that from an older brother to a sister. He started explaining that during the month of the concert, he had gotten into an argument with his younger sister, resulting in his foul mood then. When he had finally resolved the issue and wanted to contact Heechul to apologise to him, the latter had already gone off on his summer vacation.
 

However, Leeteuk did not feel the need to explain all the small little details to Yonni. What really happened was that Leejin had transferred school without seeking his opinion. When they first came to the city, Leeteuk had enrolled Leejin into one of the high school that was near to his University as he wanted to keep his sister close to him.
 

Although Leejin had undergone the heart surgery and was given the all clear by her cardiac doctor, Leeteuk never did stop worrying about his sister. After all, he was the one that was taking care of her ever since she was born. He had witnessed the severity of her ASD; how a simple run from one end of the room to the other could cause her so much discomfort.
 

Little sisters never grow up. They will always remain as the 7 year-old kid that looked at you with so much admiration in her eyes.
 

As a child, Leejin was very easy to take care of. She was an obedient girl who understood that because of her illness, she could not play like the other children. It pained Leeteuk too see such a wonderful child suffering, and he always hoped that he could suffer in her place instead.
Finally, when she was 10 years old, his parents finally agreed to let her undergo the corrective surgery.

However, even after the operation, Leeteuk was unable to come to terms with the fact that his younger sister no longer needed to live such a restricted lifestyle. The relationship between the pair of siblings, who used to be on extremely good terms, started to go downhill from there on.
 

Now able to live like a normal person, Leejin was determined to make up for her lost time. Leeteuk on the other hand, still watched over her as if she was still the young child with ASD. They often got into arguments over what she could and could not do, especially now she no longer let her brother take charge of her life.
 

The worst argument they had thus far ensued earlier on in the current year. When they had moved from their hometown to the city, Leeteuk had enrolled her in one of the local high school. However, what he did not know was that his sister, despite his countless warnings about tiring out her body too much, was an active taekwondo athletic.
 

“And now, reporting live from the venue of the National Taekwondo Championship, we are currently in the final round of competition! Vying for the title of Grand Champion, I give to you Lee Minyeon and Park Leejin!”
 

Spitting out the cola he was drinking in surprise, Leeteuk jerked his head up and stared at the television screen. The sports channel was broadcasting live about the event and he watched in shock as the camera focused on the faces of the two athletic.
 

“Park Leejin… PARK LEEJIN!”
 

Throwing his book down in anger, he jumped onto his feet and paced around the living room. Seeing his sister’s face on the television was not as bad as seeing her on the television as the candidate for the Taekwondo Grand Championship.
 

“This girl… THIS GIRL! Where did my words go? Does she even have ears?! The doctors must have cut her ears off during the operation as well!”

The fury that was burning in his heart was not one that could be simply extinguished. His sister, the one whom he had been spending most of his time and efforts to take care of, had purposely kept a deadly secret from him.

How could she keep something so important from me?

Finally settling down on the couch, Leeteuk picked up the remote and switched off the cursed television. Deciding that he wanted to interrogate Leejin the moment she stepped into the house for answers, the man waited.

Later that night, Leejin not only returned with the trophy of the Grand National Champion, but also a copy of the sponsorship contract that was offered by a high-school who was interested in headhunting her. However, the combined weight of the trophy and contract was almost more than what she could bear. Not because of their physical masses, but the implications behind them.

She was very tempted by the full sponsorship offer because it would take a whole load off Leeteuk's shoulders. She felt sorry for her brother, whom not only had to provide for himself, but also for her. He always tried to give her the best that he could, even if it meant less for himself. The fully subsidized scholarship would do them a great help.

"I'm home,"

Stepping cautiously into the house, Leejin tried her best to hide the huge trophy behind her skinny frame. Leeteuk was sitting crossed legged on the living room couch, staring silently at the coffee table. He did not acknowledge her presence even when she tried to side-step her way into her room.

However, as Leejin managed to walk to her room door and was just a step away from the safe comfort of the room, he suddenly spoke up.

"So. Did you manage to win the championship, Ms Park Leejin?"

Her blood froze at his words. Turning around slowly as she cringed inwardly at the icy tone Leeteuk was using, Leejin’s mind whirled for an explanation that could help her get out of the fix she was in. With her head hung low, she did not dare to speak for she could sense Leeteuk’s anger even though he did not scream at her.

Does oppa already know?

“Jun-Jungsoo oppa…”

“Oh. You still remember that you have an oppa? I thought defiance had already gotten into your head,”

“Oppa…”

“Don’t ‘oppa’ me! How many times had I asked you to not participate in such rigourous sports?”

“Taekwondo is not a rigourous sports!”

“All those kicking and punching that you have to do! Why are you so immature?! Don’t you know that your body won’t be able to take it?!”

“My body is fine! Oppa! I’m already given the all clear by the doctor!”

“Don’t use the doctor to try to scare me! I know it better than anyone else how well your body is!”

“Oppa! Would you be more clear about my body condition than myself?!”

“Yourself? You can’t even walk fast without running out of breath!”

“Oppa! That was when I was young! I am perfectly fine now!”

“Yes I can see that! Judging by the volume by which you are screaming at me!”

“You are shouting at me too!”

“YAH! PARK LEEJIN! How dare you speak with me like this!”

“You are using the same tone on me too! PARK JUNGSOO! Can you please be more reasonable?!”

“Reasonable? I’m being unreasonable?! Hah! Says the person who lied to her whole family!”

“Would you have let me done it if I asked you? You don’t know anything!”

“I don’t know anything? I know how sick you get when your heart attack comes along!”

“When was the last time I had an attack?”

“That’s because I’ve been taking care of you!”

“Oppa! If I had not recovered from my illness, do you seriously think that I would be able to make it thus far without an attack?”

“Without me around to take care of you, would you even have the chance to recover?!”

“That’s the main point! I’ve recovered! I’m no longer sick! I’m no longer a child! I have the right to pursue what I want!”

“Pursue what you want? How can I trust you to make the correct choices when you are immature enough to take up taekwondo with your body condition?”

“For Christ’s sake- Oppa! I’ve fully recovered! There is nothing wrong with me now! Why should I live so restrictedly when my body condition is now in peak state?!”

“Peak state? You still have to go back to the doctor’s for your follow-ups!”

“FOLLOW-UPS! NOT TREATMENTS! THIS MEANS THAT I’VE ALREADY RECOVERED! PARK JUNSOO! HOW CAN YOU BE SO OBSTINATE?!”

“DON’T YOU DARE SHOUT AT ME WHEN YOU ARE IN THE WRO-“

“WHY AM I IN THE WRONG? BECAUSE I’M NOT FOLLOWING WHAT YOU FANCY? I AM A HUMAN BEING! NOT YOUR PET!”

“PARK LEEJI-“

“CONTROL FREAK! YOU’RE A CONTROL FREAK! AND I HATE YOU!”

Throwing down her last sentence, Leejin threw the big trophy onto the ground as she bounded off in the direction of her room, refusing to speak any further with her irrational brother. Upon impact, the metal trophy broke into a couple of pieces, just like Leeteuk’s heart as he stared after the retreating back of his sister.

Eventually, he gave in to his sister. After all, she was already old enough to take care of herself. Beside, they both got their stubbornness from their father. It was either let her take control of her life and risk losing a sister, or stand his ground and definitely lose a sister.

What else could he do?

“By the way, do you remember you once said that you found me very familiar?”
 

Trying to change the topic, Leeteuk asked Yonni as he flashed a big smile at her, pushing the unpleasant memory of the big fight he had with his sister to the back of his mind. The younger girl returned the smile.

“Ne! It was at the clinic! When we first met!”
 

“Haha! Actually, the clinic is not the place where we first met. Do you remember lending an umbrella to a guy?”
 

“Umbrella?”
 

“Ne. On a rainy night?”
 

Thinking hard on Leeteuk’s words, Yonni wrecked her brains for the memory. 
 

“Ah! I remember now! The guy was trying to save a dog which was hurt very badly! Oh my goo- Please don’t tell me you were the guy!”

“What? I can’t be the guy?”

“You’re lying! It’s too much of a coincidence!”

Standing up silently, Leeteuk walked over to a cabinet nearby and opened the lowest drawer, pulling a pink umbrella from within. Yonni squealed as she recognised the umbrella that she had loaned to Leeteuk on their first chance meeting. The pair burst out into laughter as he returned the umbrella to its rightful owner.

The duo spent some more time talking about the many coincidences that occurred between the two of them before Yonni suddenly realised that it was getting pretty late. After thanking Leeteuk for the tea, Yonni left his house with an unexplainable sweetness and happiness in her heart.