New Year’s Eve arrived and Eunbi stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom, staring at her own reflection. Seeing herself like that, dressed up and with smokey make-up was a sight that sent chills down her spine. Everything looked perfect. The dress especially, for she found the piece to be absolutely breathtaking. It was black fabric with sequins sewn on, open back and ended mid-thigh. No dress she’d worn before could compare to this one, and Eunbi would’ve continued to look at her reflection if it hadn’t been for that someone knocked on her bedroom door.

“We’re leaving in five minutes.” Eunbi acknowledged the information with a low hum and without tearing her gaze from the mirror. The fact that she couldn’t showed just how shocked she was to see herself so dolled up. Now. If only Yixing had been able to celebrate New Year’s Eve with her. Eunbi’s cheeks flushed at the thought of what he would think if he saw her like this. Would he think she was pretty? The cruel reality made itself known right away though, and she let out a sigh before she glanced over at the nightstand and her cell phone. He’d still not called or sent a text message and she was starting to get a bit worried that something might have happened.

A loud bang and the sound of swearing were enough to sidetrack Eunbi, who pulled open the door and stuck her head out, curious to know what was going on. Nothing caught her attention though. At least not until further curse words could be heard. They were coming from Sehun’s room. Uninterested by what’d caused him to react, Eunbi closed her bedroom door and returned to the mirror. She was not the slightest concerned about him, or so she tried to tell herself as she listened to his outbreak. That he was upset was rather obvious. But Eunbi shrugged her shoulders before she left her room to head downstairs. Her mother stood at the end of the stairs, looking up at Eunbi as she was about to go down.

“Can you go see what’s wrong with Sehun.” Eunbi shook her head in response, irritated by the fact that she needed to look out for him all the time. Why couldn’t the adults themselves check up on him? It’s their job after all. The slam of a door interrupted and Eunbi spun around just in time to see how Sehun made his way over, his face set in a scowl. She refused to meet his eyes and instead glanced back at her mother, who in turn told Sehun to put his tie on.

“Yeah. Well. I can’t get the ing thing on.” Eunbi gulped at his harsh tone. It was clear that he was furious, something he’d been the past days actually. Ever since she cursed at him to be exact.

“Help him, Eunbi.” she shook her head yet again. But her mother ignored it, just like always, and instead explained how they were leaving any minute now and that everyone needed to hurry up. Eunbi was given no chance to talk herself out of it either, because the older woman walked away. This didn’t mean she would do as told though. No. Definitely not.

Mustering up her courage, Eunbi took a deep breath and then turned to face Sehun. The courage however, slipped away as soon as she looked at him. Her stomach churned and she bit her bottom lip, uneasy about being left alone with him. Eunbi didn’t like it. Didn’t like the feelings that were causing chaos within for they made her unsure of herself. They made her question every little thing she did. And to make it even more bothersome, Sehun looked her up and down as if he was checking her out. This was enough for Eunbi, whose thoughts went into overload. It was simply too much and she reacted by snatching the tie from his hands. One she, in nothing but pure anger, shoved down the little purse her mother bought especially for this day. And to top off, Eunbi headed downstairs without as much as a single care in the world, determined to not let neither of the brothers destroy her evening.

The car ride was the first situation to test her patience as she was squeezed between Luhan and Sehun.

They’d barely left the driveway before she felt a hand grace her leg. A sensation that made her shiver and turn her attention Luhan, who winked at her. Eunbi gritted her teeth in response and pried his hand away, annoyed that he couldn’t behave. That his hand was back a second or two later, gracing her leg and feeling her up was enough to make Eunbi so uncomfortable that she moved about in the seat. Her attempt to get away though, only resulted in that she pressed herself against Sehun, who glanced at them.

“Can you stop.” much to Eunbi’s surprise, the words weren’t directed at her. But rather at Luhan. The latter was quick to retort of course, and it wasn’t long before a heated conversation broke out between the two brothers. A conversation none of the parents could stop. It didn’t matter what the two adults said because both Luhan and Sehun continued. They were throwing their words around and insulting each other to no end. The whole situation was really sad and Eunbi couldn’t help but to think of the pictures were they were happy and smiling and didn’t glare at one another.

To her immense relief, the car ride was fairly short and they came to a stop in front of a rather large house with impressive architecture. Sehun was the first to get out and he slammed the door so hard she jumped in her seat, overwhelmed by the sound it caused. Luhan was next and the did the exact same thing before he walked away. Eunbi was baffled by this, how they could act like a bunch of five year olds who were denied candy. It was mentally exhausting and it was a wonder that their father hadn’t suffered a mental breakdown.

“Just ignore them.” she frowned, tired that it always had to be like this, before she followed with the two adults over to the porch where they were greeted by another couple. There were smiles, hellos, and hugs exchanged. It was all nice and welcoming but Eunbi still felt slightly out of place when they were invited inside the house. Several voices could be heard and she was a bit surprised by this for she’d thought they were the only ones who’d been asked over. There were fancy things everywhere as well, and she had a hard time processing it since it was such a stark contrast to how she’d grown up. Eunbi became so distracted by all the things that she completely missed that another person joined them.

“Eunbi this is our son, Minkyu.” she turned to face the voice, stunned by the sudden presence of a boy around her age. He was handsome, no doubt about that. But the smile was what reminded her of Yixing and instantly drained her of the little happiness she had left. Eunbi tried her best to be polite and friendly though, for she didn’t want her mother to complain about her behaviour when they got back home.

“Why don’t you take Eunbi with you to the living room.” the male nodded. Eunbi wasn’t quite as enthusiastic about the situation and would rather have stayed with the adults. More so since she had no idea what was to come and what would happen next. But in fear of embarrassing herself, she went along with it and the two of them walked down the hallway towards the living room. They passed several doors on the way and Eunbi noticed how they’d decorated the backyard with burning marschalls as she glanced out the window. It was beautiful and she found herself stare a little too long for Minkyu had to clear his throat to get her attention.

There were other teenagers and kids there as well. All of them dressed in their best outfits and the girls were especially dolled up, just like Eunbi herself.

“There’s drinks over there. Non-alcoholic of course.” he tried to joke and she cracked a fake smile. She felt a bit uneasy and awkward around him and the others though, like she didn’t really fit in with them and their lifestyle. And to make matters worse, Luhan came strolling in, a glass in hand and voice loud. He was being his usual self and Eunbi shied away, not in the mood to deal with the older male.

“Hello.” she spun around, surprised that someone was speaking to her, only to be greeted by the sight of a boy. He couldn’t be older than ten and displayed a smile so bright Eunbi herself smiled.

“Who are you? What’s your name? Do you have any siblings?” Eunbi was bombarded with various questions. Questions she did her best to answer, and she noticed that he reacted at the mentioning of Luhan and Sehun’s names and the fact that she was their step-sister.

“Really? Sehun hyung is awesome.” the boy exclaimed loudly before he continued and asked her if she liked video games. Still a bit taken aback by the younger’s outburst, Eunbi blinked and then replied that yes, yes she did like video games.

“Can we play? Please? No one else wants to play with me and Minkyu hyung promised I could use his playstation.” he begged her and Eunbi glanced in the direction of where Luhan stood together with a couple of girls, only to agree with the suggestion when she saw how the older male turned her way and winked. Yeah. Anything was better than having to stay there and watch Luhan as he tried to hit on girls. The boy, who introduced himself as Woojin, lead the way and they took the stairs up to the second floor. And almost immediately did she find herself relax. There were no loud voices or annoying conversations. It was peace and quiet and her mother was not around to complain, something she was certain the older woman would do if she saw Eunbi hanging out with kids. But that was one thing she liked so much about Woojin, that he was a kid with naive thoughts and innocent questions. The situation changed rather drastically though, because someone was already there when they entered what she believed to be Minkyu’s bedroom.

“Hyung.” Woojin rushed forward, jumped upon the small couch standing in the corner of the room, and climbed on top of Sehun. Eunbi watched all of this and it would a lie if she said she wasn’t a bit shocked by how Sehun reacted to the young boy. It was so completely different from how he treated everyone else.

“Noona.” she’d momentarily forgotten about her run-ins with Sehun and therefore tensed when he glanced back and looked directly at her. The expression that flashed on his face showed surprise. That he hadn’t expected her to be there. He said nothing though, and instead returned to the video game he was playing. Eunbi frowned at the lack of reaction but decided to ignore the older male as she inched forward towards the couch. There wasn’t a lot of room and she ended up taking a seat next to Woojin, who’d now placed himself in the middle with Sehun on his right.

“We want to play, too, hyung.” she listened as Woojin urged Sehun to let them play.

“Let me finish this and I’ll let you play.” and so they waited. Minutes passed by and Woojin grew more and more impatient as time ticked on. Eunbi remained silent and waited. She didn’t want to speak in fear that it would spark an argument. Maybe that’s why she felt a slight relief when her cell phone rang as it gave her a reason to excuse herself from the room. She stepped out in the hallway after having promised Woojin that she would hurry, only to feel a sudden adrenaline rush overwhelm her as she answered and heard Yixing’s voice on the other end.

“Hi.” her cheeks flushed at the sound of his voice. But it made her bothered, too, because she realized just how much she missed him.

“Hi.”

“What are you doing?” his question was expected and she explained in a rather hasty way how she was at a New Year’s Eve party her step-father’s boss was throwing. Yixing acknowledged the information and moved on to ask if she was having fun. Eunbi made a grimace at the word for she was definitely not having fun. The party was about as far from it as one could get. But she didn’t tell him that. Just like she refused to mention the chaos that’d taken place during the time he’d been in China. She didn’t want him to know about it. For obvious reasons at that.

“Yeah. It’s great.” she repressed the sigh that was about to slip from her lips and instead listened as Yixing changed subject, something that meant he must’ve fallen for her lie.

“I’m sorry that I couldn’t be there. I should have called you earlier, too, but it’s been really hectic with competitions and everything,” Eunbi’s heart softened at his apologize. Sure she’d been really sad that he hadn’t contacted her. But it wasn’t like he’d ignored her. Not like a certain other person. And because of that, because of the fact that Eunbi knew he thought of her during his time overseas, she told him it was okay.

“You can’t believe what else happened. Representatives for Shanghai University of Sport was there and we spoke after the race. They asked me what I was going to do after I graduated High School and whether I would be interested in a scholarship.” Eunbi’s heart dropped and several thoughts swirled around in her head. But she said nothing. What could she possibly say in a situation like that? And it sure didn’t get better as she listened to Yixing as he continued.

“I told them I would consider it. I mean, it’s a huge opportunity and it would be a great chance to further develop my skills.” this was so not what she wanted to hear, and it took Eunbi every ounce to not sound disappointed as she explained that it was his decision and that he should do whatever suited him best. One thing became quite obvious and that was the possibility of them breaking up. It would most likely be inevitable if he decided to enroll into the University in Shanghai.

Eunbi looked up when she heard footsteps, only to see Sehun staring right back at her. His face was set in a scowl and she gulped, both annoyed and curious as to why he stood there.

“I have to go. My mom is calling for me.” she lied for she didn’t want Sehun to listen in on the conversation. That’s if he hadn’t already done so. Yixing understood and they said their goodbyes before the call ended. She was so not in the mood to face Sehun and therefore did her best to dismiss him as she headed back to Woojin. He seemed to have other things in mind though, because he cut her off and thereby made it impossible for Eunbi to make her way forward.

“Could you move.”

“I don’t know. Could you give me back my tie.” he extended his hand, as if to further point out that he wanted it back. And Eunbi, sad and tired after the call with Yixing, made no attempt to argue with him and instead reached for the tie that lay in her pursue. One she was about to place in his palm when he told her to put it on. Fine. If that was what she had to do in order to get rid of him. Then so be it. What Eunbi hadn’t foreseen was how hard it actually was to tie it properly. Nothing looked good and her patience was running low. And without thinking, she took yet another step closer as to make it easier for herself. Her eyes were focused on the piece of fabric, her mind set on tying it correctly. She was so intent on making it right that she paid no attention to what Sehun did or could do.

A feat she’d regret the second he slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her even closer. It was all too sudden and Eunbi felt shivers run down her spine when she glanced up and locked eyes with Sehun. He was doing it again. The whole . . . Eunbi didn’t know what to call his behaviour. Something she did know however, was that it made her question her emotions yet again.

“Everyone. The food is ready.” an unknown voice came from downstairs. And just like that, Sehun let go, stepped back, and left. Leaving Eunbi baffled and a bit surprised. Her heart was racing all over again, thumping against her ribcage in such a violent manner it almost hurt. She stayed rooted to the spot because of this, because she needed to calm down, because her flushed cheeks would draw too much attention.

It was not only her emotions that were running wild. Her thoughts were as well. To say she was emotionally exhausted by his constant push and pull personality would be an understatement. His behaviour could change in the split of a second and it made her confused and upset and anxious for she had no idea what he’d do next.

~~~

Author’s Note

I know some of you wondered what happened to the update yesterday. But it was only a re-upload of chapter 50 that’d somehow disappeared.