>_____<;;

“Coffee never tasted so good,” Victoria commented the next morning.

“You going to class today?” Chorong walked in.

“What do you take me for?”

Chorong shrugged, “Who would have thought that Miss Straight A skips every so often.”

“It was a day off.”

“For you cause you skipped.” Chorong sat down at the table.

“You think she gonna be ok?” Victoria gestured her head toward the second floor.

“To be honest, no,” Chorong replied. “I don’t think she will ever be ok. He really broke her heart.”

Victoria turned off the stove and told, “Why don’t you go wake her up? See if she wants to eat?”

“I doubt she will, but I’ll go try,” Chorong said in a sing song voice before standing and left the kitchen.

>_____<;;

Namjoo hadn’t slept last night even when her sisters had tucked her in and turned the lights out for her. Part of her felt dead…no, most of her did. She couldn’t find a will or a reason to keep on. Nothing was important if Luhan wasn’t there.

She was nothing, but a thing – a solid being. There was no soul and no light in her. Namjoo was just a grain of sand alive, an empty shell. There was nothing she wanted. She was just there.

When she stood in the shower that morning she wanted to cry again. Every little memory and thought of Luhan killed her again and again paining her even more than the first thought.

“You’re capable. You’ve always been strong. You can keep moving forward and fight with your sisters. My Namjoo is that kind of person.”

It was burdening, but even so Namjoo did want to do her best because Luhan had said so. And she would pull her life together first before all else would fail.

>_____<;;

“Namjoo?” Chorong knocked on Namjoo’s door, but no one replied. “Are you still sleeping?”

Chorong knocked again before she turned around when the bathroom door opened. She was caught by surprise when Namjoo walked out dressed for the day.

“You’re…up?” Chorong asked.

Namjoo blinked at her with her eyes still partially swollen.

“Where are you going?”

Namjoo walked by and opened her door, “Find a job.”

“A job?” Chorong repeated walking in after her.

Namjoo opened the lid of her bucket and tossed her clothes in, “The one Changmin offered.”

“What!?” Chorong raised her voice before shaking her head and asked more calmly, “What job?” She shook her head again and said, “You’re looking for a job?”

“I’m out of college, I should do something,” Namjoo walked over to her mirror to comb her hair.

Chorong stared at her wide eyed before swerving around and headed downstairs. When she reached the stairs she literally started at a run until she entered the kitchen.

“Whoa! Something big is happening!” Chorong shouted.

Victoria turned around from the stove surprised. “What? What? What?”

“Namjoo’s dressed up and ready to look for a job,” Chorong answered.

“What?”

“I know,” Chorong walked in, “shouldn’t she still be in bed sleeping and still crying?”

Victoria blinked her eyes and looked toward the ceiling as if she’d be able to see into Namjoo’s room.

“What if she does want to make a change.”

“Earth to Victoria, not when he left her crying like that. Do you think everything will be ok after a night of crying like that!?”

“Well it can’t be helped,” Victoria shrugged. “Don’t dig into it. You’ll just make it worse for her. Lets lay off it and live normally until Namjoo wants to talk about it. Maybe she just wants to freshen her mind a little. She’s been under…well, the air a lot lately.”

Chorong still didn’t agree with her, but quieted when she heard Namjoo coming down the stairs.

“Here,” Victoria passed a plate over.

“We don’t live very normally for your information,” Chorong whispered taking the plate from her sister.

Victoria made a face at her and sat down at the table, “You’re here? Come eat. Chorong said you’re going out to look for a job.”

“Yea,” Namjoo replied. “Chorong’s going out anyway.”

“I am?” Chorong asked confused.

“I thought your next date was today,” Namjoo said sitting down.

“Oh! It is!” Chorong’s eyes widened. “Oh my god…”

Victoria left for school half an hour later leaving Chorong to stare alone at her closet helplessly. She didn’t want to bother Namjoo after she found her staring into the sitting room desolately. Maybe Victoria was right; Namjoo might need some fresh air after all.  

Chorong sighed and grabbed a random outfit before heading downstairs. Namjoo turned when she heard her and Chorong couldn’t help but wonder how much Namjoo could be hurting right now, but wasn’t showing. As an older sister she felt useless for being unable to ease her pain and she knew Victoria could be feeling the same way. What could they do for Namjoo?

“I’m stopping by a café, do you want me to drop you off?” Chorong asked.

“No, I’ll grab a cab or something,” Namjoo answered. “Are you heading off now?”

Chorong smiled and nodded.

>_____<;;

Victoria caught herself dazing while in class. It felt a little empty without Namjoo’s guardian angel now. Since she was thinking about it she couldn’t help, but remember what he’d asked of her just yesterday before he left. To help bring Namjoo back to Chanyeol, but how could she do so in such a short amount of time when he’d just left? It would too cruel for Namjoo, but then again, it would take a fairly long time for Namjoo to accept Chanyeol back if he couldn’t be reintroduced into her life.

During their 10 minute break, Victoria finally took the initiative to call Chanyeol.

“Hey, it’s me, if you’ve forgotten, Namjoo’s sister, Victoria.”

“Oh…I remember.” He didn’t sound very excited.

“Look, Namjoo’s not doing well lately and I thought seeing someone she knows might cheer her up,” Victoria half lied, “she’ll be heading home later in the afternoon. Do you want to meet up with her if you’re not busy?”

Chanyeol didn’t reply for half a minute but when he did he said, “Is she ok?”

“It’s just…” Victoria stopped, “it’s hard to explain. Do you want to see her?”

“Can I know what’s going on?” Chanyeol asked. 

Victoria paused to ask herself what it was that she was doing. Would this benefit Namjoo or make things worse?

“Look, I just think Namjoo needs someone to lean on than her sisters at the moment. She needs someone else to care for her right now…and I think you’d be the person to do it since…you know her better,” Victoria stammered. “Please, just see her for a moment. I’m sure you want to see her too.”

>_____<;;

Chorong immediately felt like turning around and running away when Suho waved at her from inside the café. She wasn’t prepared for this. She hated dates and wondered in the first place why she’d agreed to a second meeting. Had she been out of her mind?

“Hey,” she greeted sitting down. “Are you off work early?”

“Yea,” Suho nodded. “How was your weekend?”

Chorong accidentally let out a loud sarcastic laugh, which immediately embarrassed her. Clamping her lips tightly shut she glanced around before looking back at Suho who slightly laughed at her.

“That’s cute,” he commented. “And a little humorous, but I like humor.”

Chorong felt her cheeks grow hot and wanted to strike herself with lightning.

“Anyway, getting back on topic, what did you do yesterday?” Suho asked.

“Oh…had a long day,” Chorong let the word ‘long’ drone on.

“How so? What happened?”

“Um…just…” Chorong wondered why she’d even started opening . “My older sister ended up in the hospital.”

“The rain?” Suho asked.

That wasn’t really the answer, but Chorong nodded anyway. “Yea, the rain.”

“How about Namjoo?”

“Oh…well…she’s hanging in there,” then Chorong said underneath her breath, “if you can call it that.”

“What?”

“Oh,” Chorong waved her hand up, “nothing.”

“I just wanted some coffee, which I got,” Suho held up his cup, “do you want anything?”

“No, I’m good.”

“Do you want to go take a walk by the river?” Suho suggested. “It’s really nice out today. The storm yesterday was really unpredictable and scary. I wonder how it came in so fast.”

“I know, right?” Chorong tried to match his tone of voice when all answers were obvious to her. The irony of the situation was too much for her to handle. “That was one heck of an uncontrollable storm.”

“Crazy weather we’re having,” Suho commented. “Even when it’s been really nice out.”

Chorong slightly chuckled just to agree with him. Along the way she listened to him talk about his students and adventures about his dog. Listening to him talk made her feel a sense of peace as if assuring her that she wasn’t alone even if her sisters weren’t with her. It felt nice or maybe having him there as a friend brought her the sense of security she’d long missed after Woohyun. Then she would look at Suho who was too immersed in talking to notice her quick glance and wonder how she even felt about him at all.

She didn’t think of him romantically as of yet, but was he still a stranger or someone who was a step closer to being friends with her? Sure, he was a good guy. He was really nice; perhaps handsome and really friendly, but what was her impression of him than just external factors?

“You said you’re an only child, right?” Chorong asked when they stopped on the bridge overlooking the river.

She leaned against the railing, clutched her hands together wondering how Namjoo felt when she contemplated about ending her life. Had she been scared? Or had she been definite for it? What had been running through her mind during that time? Had her sister believed she was really alone?

“What do you do when you’re lonely?”

“I read; I like reading, have I said that before?” Suho asked then slightly laughed. His eyes would sparkle when his face drew together as he laughed making him look really joyful. “Listen to music, go for a walk, or I’d hang out with my friends. What are some of the things you do to avoid loneliness?”

Chorong shot him a glance before looking out across the vast river. There was a really fast cool breeze that would whip her hair back. She let it get at her face a few times before urging the wind to slow down and when it did she felt the window come by in a gentler manner. She could feel the nerves in her feet become ticklish as her eyes landed on the shimmering water below. It gave her such a fright.

“I don’t do much,” Chorong replied calmly, “I’ve dealt with it in many ways a long time ago. What I started thinking about lately is how to deal with being alone.” Chorong lifted her eyes up to the clear sky continuing, “My sisters were practically alone yesterday; both of them. I was alone too.” Becoming shy she scrunched up her shoulders. “When I was waiting for Victoria to wake in the hospital, I thought being alone is scary. If I didn’t have my sisters, I’d just be a lone person.” Chorong laughed embarrassed and said, “I talk about nonsense, don’t I?”

Suho was looking at her with an interested, yet soft gaze when she turned to glance at him. Seeing him made her flush with even more embarrassment and quickly turn away.

“No, it’s not. I like listening to you,” Suho commented. “You don’t talk a lot about yourself, so I like hearing more about you.”

“Oh…” Chorong managed shyly.

“You don’t have to be alone,” Suho told. “Your sisters wouldn’t leave you. I’m sure they care for you a lot like you for them.”

Chorong shot him another quick glance and smiled for the awkwardness of it. His words were really kind and surprisingly got to her really fast.

“Chorong,” Suho called, “I also wouldn’t let you feel alone.”

Her heart skipped a beat and her body froze on the spot. There was a loud drumming in her ear and she hadn’t meant for it to happen, but she turned to look at him astounded. Suho smiled back at her in the soft manner he always did.

“Chorong,” he said her name again and Chorong felt her blood vessels pulsate against her skin as if she could feel every blood cell passing through. “I don’t mean to intimidate or pressure you, but I do think you’re a really giving person when I hear you talk about going back to school just to learn more about teaching for the kids. I really admire you for your generosity. You’re a beautiful person, and I like you for that.”

Her lashes fluttered almost confused before the words transmitted through to her brain and she found herself staring at him as if she was hearing an exotic animal speak for the first time.

“You...what?” she stammered.

Suho slightly laughed, but smiled again, “I like you, Chorong, in a boy likes girl kind of way.” Suho laughed again embarrassed and she saw his face flush in a shade of red. “I mean…I don’t expect anything from you and I’d still like to see you as a friend, if you don’t mind. Please don’t think too much about what I just said. Oh…I feel like hitting my head against a tree right now.”

But her facial expression wasn’t changing from being dumbfounded. Chorong suddenly thought she would never build her first impression of him at this point anymore.

>_____<;;

Victoria just got out of class and was ready to depart to a nearby café to relax and read. There was no plan to head on home as if yet since she’d told Chanyeol to wait at the house for Namjoo. Whether Namjoo would be upset or not, she’d only done it out of goodwill and could only hope Namjoo would understand. Also since it was something Luhan had asked of her before he left and Victoria knew she would keep her word.

As a sister she didn’t want Namjoo dwelling over Luhan, who was no longer there and would no longer return. It would be understandable if Namjoo let herself hurt for a year or two, but Victoria wouldn’t cut her any slack if Namjoo dwelled over him longer than that. No matter what, Chanyeol had come first in this lifetime and if he cared for her sister as much as he said he did, Victoria would only trust Namjoo to him.

When she started to near her car she saw a head towering over it. Once she approached her car she stopped upon recognizing the individual.

“What are you doing?” Victoria called out when she saw Changmin standing there with a notepad in hand. “Are you ticketing me?”

“No, just writing down your license plate.”

“For what!?” she questioned defensively.

“Oh you know, for whatever reason you wouldn’t be able to comprehend.”

Victoria frowned and ordered, “Get away from my car.”

“Not so fast, Miss,” Changmin chided. “We need to go on a date first.”

“A what!?”

“But if you really want to see what I’m doing,” Changmin flipped his notepad over to show her the pad of tickets he’d been scrawling on. “You’ll get one if you don’t follow my orders today.”

“You’re kidding,” Victoria slightly growled.

“Nope siree,” Changmin shook his head. “Shall we go?”

He tapped the hood of her car and smiled. Victoria could feel a rage embark through her veins as she tightened her grip on her keys.