Eunbi couldn’t sleep very well that night and woke up tired and exhausted. She was still devastated at the turn of events and found it hard to understand why he would do such a thing. What made it even more shocking was the fact that Luhan despised his brother for trying to kill himself, and now he’d done the exact same thing.

She rolled to her side and looked at Sehun. He was still asleep, his lips slightly parted. Her admiration was cut short though, when she began to think of his suicide attempt. He’d tried to kill himself because of his mother. If that was the only reason she couldn’t know for sure. Not that it made that much of a difference for it was still horrible. Eunbi let out an inaudible sigh and sat up. She needed to do something to keep her mind off of what’d happened and thus proceeded to fix breakfast. The fridge was filled with various food and Eunbi noticed that there were still some soup left from the other day, which she heated up and added some more vegetables to. The rice was soon taken care of as well. But in the midst of it all, her focus soon drifted back to Luhan’s wellbeing. And a tear slid down her cheek as the memories of him being transported to the hospital by ambulance made themselves known. More tears trickled down as she remembered her mother’s words. How close to death Luhan had been. Twenty minutes later and he wouldn’t have made it. It was a horrifying thought.

“You’re already up.” The voice startled her and she turned to face her grandmother with an expression of shock and surprise. She didn’t think the older woman would be up already seeing as they’d all stayed up pretty late.

“Yeah. I couldn’t sleep.” She hadn’t been able to relax and thus not succeeded with falling asleep. Not even Sehun managed to calm her down, which was a rarity. Another sigh slipped past her lips and she frowned. She was angry, furious, and disappointed at the same time. Not so much at Luhan himself. But more at her mother and stepfather. They were the adults and yet they’d never really seemed to care. They should’ve paid more attention to them instead of being cooped up at work all day. Arms wrapped around her as she stood there, and she glanced up with tear stained eyes to see her grandmother pull her closer. The warmth and comfort of her grandma’s embrace was enough to make Eunbi break down and cry. Tears flowed down and she sobbed uncontrollably.

“He’s going to be alright. Okay. Everything will be fine.” Eunbi wanted nothing more than to believe that. But she was hesitated after knowing how their pain and suffering, both Luhan and Sehun’s, were showed under the rug and ignored. What if it nothing happened? What if it all went back to how it used to be? This was Eunbi’s biggest fear. That there would be no changes and that the two brothers were supposed to live on with all the bottled up feelings they so obviously stored within. Memories that needed to be talked about but was shoved aside.

“What’s going on? Did something happen? Is everything okay with Luhan?” Never before had Sehun sounded so boyish, so vulnerable. And Eunbi stepped back and away from the comforting cocoon of her grandmother’s embrace before she met Sehun’s gaze. His eyes were bloodshot and he looked nothing like his usual self. He couldn’t have slept very well either.

“She’s just worried about your brother, who’s fine. They performed a gastric lavage when he came in to clean his stomach from the toxins. I’ve heard it’s a standard procedure so neither of you have to worry. He’s going to be just fine once he’s gotten some rest.” Eunbi listened to the explanation as she wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, only to be interrupted when the rice cooker clicked and thus made her aware of the fact that the rice was cooked and ready to be served.

“I’ll go get Kyungsoo then we’ll eat.” The woman headed upstairs and thereby left the two teenagers alone. The whole room fell into silence and Eunbi took a quick glance at Sehun before she began to set the table. But with her thoughts elsewhere it didn’t work out too well. In fact. She even dropped a glass, which scattered in several pieces when it collided with the floor. It was a clumsy act. But also one that could happen to anyone. Still. Eunbi began to cry once again. Sehun hurried over, placed his arms around her, and told her to calm down. He was devastated as well by the turn of events. It took him by surprise actually, the pain he felt when his brother was taken away for he’d been horrified at the possibility of never seeing Luhan again.

Breakfast was a quiet ordeal. No one said anything. And her grandma ended up having to reassure them all, once again, that Luhan would be fine and that he would need to stay another night at the hospital after having spoken to Eunbi’s mother on the phone. Sehun remained expressionless even though he felt horrible. He decided to head upstairs as soon as everyone had eaten. His own bedroom wasn’t what he had in mind though, but rather Luhan’s. With a heavy sigh, he pushed open the door and entered. Clothes and belongings were scattered everywhere and he almost stepped on a photo album that lay right before his feet when he tried to take a step forward. Sehun managed to avoid it in the last second. But at the expense of colliding with the wardrobe, which he happened to slam his head against. His nose took most of the damage and though it hurt, he didn’t really care as he spun around and picked up the photo album.

His lips pressed together and he had to fight back the tears when his gaze fell on the picture. One that displayed the very last time they all went on vacation as a family. Sehun found the memories so bittersweet that he flipped the book shut and tossed it on the bed, which he placed himself down on. His shoulders dropped and he buried his face in his hands as if to hide the tears that now streamed down his cheeks. It wasn’t just sadness though, but a sense of emptiness as well for this was no longer about the hate they harboured for one another. But about surviving. And it became obvious that changes needed to be made. Their parents had to realize that this so-called family was in dire need of help.

Downstairs Eunbi and Kyungsoo sat on the couch, both of them quiet and with their attention on the tv. Well. Attention and attention. Eunbi couldn’t really focus on the program very long as her thoughts drifted elsewhere. She wondered what Sehun was doing to be exact. And all of a sudden did a very troublesome thought cross her mind. A thought that rocked her to the core and caused her to hurry up the staircase. Eunbi feared Sehun might have done something stupid and without as much as a knock, the girl invaded Sehun’s bedroom. Much to her horror, he wasn’t there. A feat that made her stomach drop and heart clench. Eunbi panicked for a second before she spun around and looked down the hall. A faint but distinct sob could be heard and she wasted no time as she made her way over to where she thought he was hiding.

Pushing Luhan’s bedroom door open, Eunbi peeked her head through the small gap between the door and doorframe. Sehun lay on the bed with his eyes closed, and though she hesitated, Eunbi took a step forward and closed the door behind her. He couldn’t have noticed her presence for he remained still, and without as much as a word, Eunbi laid down next to him. That anyone might walk in on them was nothing she cared about when she draped an arm over his waist and pressed herself against him.

“Don’t try anything like that again because I don’t ever want to lose you.” The words were no more than a mere whisper. She didn’t expect an answer, thinking that he was asleep. So it certainly came as a surprise when Sehun promised that he wouldn’t.

“I’m never going to leave.”

They fell asleep like that, with Eunbi’s face nuzzled against his nape and with Sehun’s arm draped over her waist. Both their dreams were invaded by nightmares. Sehun’s were so bad he awoke with a startle, his heart pounding in his chest. He’d dreamed about Luhan again. A knock on the door was enough to sidetrack him and before he knew it, Eunbi’s grandmother stood in the doorway. He was too mentally exhausted to even care that the older woman walked in on them, and therefore remained.

“Our train is leaving in an hour so Kyungsoo and I need to go.” Sehun’s gaze drifted over to Eunbi. But before he was able to wake her up, the woman told him to let her be.

“I think she’ll be sad if she doesn’t get to say goodbye.” And with that he gave Eunbi a light shook. She reacted slowly, her eyelids fluttering open to the sight of Sehun gazing down on her. She yawned and her lips, only to plant a kiss on his cheek. It was a rather innocent action and Eunbi paid no further attention to it. Not until she heard her grandma’s voice. The sound sent chills down her spine and she moved about, panicking over the fact that the older woman saw them together like this.

“You can’t tell mom about this. Please don’t tell mom.” She was up on her feet so fast her head spun. She almost lost her balance because of this, but managed to stay upright as she headed up to her grandmother with pleading eyes. Eunbi thought it was too soon for anyone to know of their relationship. And it was certainly not the right time now after everything that’d happened with Luhan. No. It would only add on with the chaos. She didn’t know what to say either, when a smile suddenly graced the older’s lips. It was far from how Eunbi imagined her grandma to react.

“Awh. Honey. Your love life is not your mother’s business.” Speechless, Eunbi blinked. Her head was swimming with thoughts and she didn’t know what to say. Instead, her gaze drifted over to Sehun, who still lay on the bed. He seemed as surprised as she did.

“I’ll always be on your side, Eunbi. Okay?” It meant a lot to know that.

“Kyungsoo and I really need to leave now. We’ll miss our train otherwise. I’ve talked to your mother and she promised to be home in an hour or two.” Eunbi hugged the woman and then went to look for Kyungsoo, whom she found in the hall, waiting. She said goodbye to him the same way, with a hug. But also with the words that she hoped to see him soon.

“Yeah. I’ll see you soon, and take care of Sehun.” The wink was enough for Eunbi to realize that he knew about them. How he knew she didn’t know. And surprisingly did it not bother her as much seeing as he looked so unfazed by it. Maybe she’d been too concerned about the reactions. Or were her grandmother and Kyungsoo just being nice because they were close. Either way, Eunbi and Sehun would keep their relationship low. The time to reveal it was not right.

The whole house fell into silence once her grandma and Kyungsoo left. Silence that felt weird for it wasn’t very often it was that quiet. Eunbi welcomed it though, as she headed to the living room and the couch, because she was dead tired and saw no need with unnecessary noise. She lay down and stretched out, thus taking up the whole space. Sehun showed up a few moments later and sat down in the armchair. Neither of them said anything and instead fell asleep.

~~~~

Author’s Note
Hi. Just wanted to say that the updates the following month may be a bit slow.
The reason for that is because of the World Cup. As a football enthusiast this month every fourth year is very special to me.
So if you wanna talk football, you’re more than welcome to do so =D