“Who exactly are you?” asked Taemin. Sulli ignored Taemin’s question and helped Taemin by unwrapping the ropes. This is really hard! Sulli thought, biting her lower lips. She struggled to unwrap the ropes with her hands. She sighed and reached into her pocket. Out, she took out a pocket nice. It had a pink handle with sakura flowers patterned on it. The blade was sharp, as if it was just bought.

“You know, you remind me of this girl at school that I really like,” Taemin said out of the blue. Sulli stopped cutting the ropes and turned her head to face Taemin. Taemin sighed. “Except the thing is, she doesn’t like me at all. I heard that she’s really into mature guys, so I’m trying to learn from my hyung. 

“Except the problem is, I think I went too overboard earlier today during lunch when I mentioned about Taecyeon hyung. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Taecyeon hyung! I mean, Taecyeon hyung was once our older stepbrother. We got separated because I think I had to use the restroom or something like that. Anyways, I remember seeing part of his dead head at the window, but then I was hiding behind Noona.

“Everyone thinks I’m childish, and I don’t want to act childish around my crush. I’m afraid that she’s going to get embarrassed around me since she likes mature men. I thought it was a like at first because when we met, we got along well with each other. However, when I heard from her friends that she liked mature men, I just had to somehow mature really fast and impress her. That way, she can love me without feeling in shame or something. Do you want to know what her name is? Or are you feeling a bit annoyed with me right now?” Taemin asked. 

Sulli was finally done with slicing off the thick ropes. She was surprised with herself how she was actually listening to what Taemin was saying. Taemin rubbed his wrists that were now red and sore, but he still stared at Sulli with bright, happy eyes.

“So do you want to know who the special girl’s name is?” Taemin asked. Sulli wanted to speak, but then she was afraid that her identity would be revealed. She just nodded, as Taemin leaned against Sulli’s ear. Sulli’s heart started pumping with eagerness, ready to hear who the name belonged to. Taemin opened his mouth to speak, ready to reveal the name Sulli was looking forward to hear.

“So…he’s back?” Minho asked, putting the teacup down on the small plate. Yoona nodded slowly, biting her lower lips. She tried to hold back her tears, but they ran down her cheeks like a river running down the valley. Donghae wiped away Yoona’s tears with his thumb gently, trying to comfort her.

“Yeah…He’s back,” Yoona nodded, wiping her tears with her own hand. Minho sighed and gripped the handle of his teacup, taking another sip. He was confused, frustrated, and irritated. Why would Yoona’s older step brother do such a thing? Minho wondered, Did he forget his memory or something? What’s the missing puzzle?

“Do you know any reason why he’s doing this?” Minho asked, scrunching his eyebrows. This meant that he was serious. Yoona bit her lips, choking on the words. She slowly gulped nervously, and opened gently.

“He said… he said, ‘Hello Yoona, Taemin. Sorry, but I’ll be taking Taemin away for a while,’” Yoona said, saying exactly what Taecyeon had said. The memory made her shiver. Taecyeon oppa knows me. I know he does, but why would he take Taemin only? Why not me? Is this Mr. Lee’s doing or something? Yoona wondered, as she began to sob again. Donghae continued to comfort Yoona, but failed to do so.

“I’m sure something is wrong,” Donghae declared, “I’m sure something had happened. I mean, he would’ve been dead by now, right?”

“Yeah, but then could it be that it’s a ghost?” Yuri asked, looking pale.

“No, he had two companions with him. Plus, ghosts are transparent. You can’t touch them, and they can’t touch you,” Donghae said.

“You can!” Yuri argued. Donghae wasn’t in the mood for arguing. He just wanted to get to the bottom of the case. What’s going on? Donghae groaned.

Suddenly, Jessica walked in the room. Donghae frowned.

“I said to leave us along privately–” 

“I’m sorry, sir,” Jessica interrupted, “But there is a call on the other line. It’s for you, and it seems to be from Young Lady Choi.” Minho raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t remember having a sister or anything,” Minho said. Yoona smacked the back of Minho’s head.

“There are tons of people whose last names are ‘Choi.’ It’s probably someone else,” Yoona said, as Donghae nodded.

“It’s Sulli,” Donghae said, as he got up. As Donghae left the room, Yuri yawned and munched on the cookie.

“I thought you were here to study or have fun, but this is all boring and confusing,” Yuri sighed. Yoona forced a smile.

“Well, I thank you for baring with us,” Yoona thanked. Yuri laughed.

“Yoona, no need to be thankful! I’m just here because of,” Yuri turned to Minho and winked at him, “Him.” Yoona laughed. She somehow loved seeing Minho get tortured by Yuri’s flirt. She kind of envied how much Yuri loved Minho, too. I wish I can love someone like that, Yoona thought.

Just then, Donghae dashed into the room. His face was filled with happiness and joy, while the others looked confused.

“It’s about Taemin!” Donghae exclaimed happily, “Apparently, Taecyeon stopped by at Sulli’s house and Sulli managed to save Taemin! Taemin is on his way here, so we should go outside and wait for him.” Yoona gasped in shock and shot right up on her feet. She ran towards Donghae and gave him a big, tight hug.

“Oh my gosh! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Yoona repeated, squeezing Donghae. Donghae squeezed Yoona gently back, smiling proudly. Yoona started tearing up into small, happy tears while Minho watched enviously at the two. I want Yoona to hug me like that, Minho thought, Wait, what am I thinking? Stop it, Minho! You and Yoona have a brotherly and sisterly relationship! 

“So…is everyone ready to go out?” Donghae asked.

Sulli chewed on her fingernails, tapping on her desk with her fingers annoyingly. Her father and his workers woke up and were furious to see Taemin gone. Sulli lied how she took a sip of her own drink and fell asleep. The guests eventually left, while Sulli was grounded for two weeks. However, that wasn’t the real problem why Sulli was annoyed.

It was clearly because of what Taemin had said. If Taemin had just completed his thought, Sulli would’ve been satisfied, but no, he stopped himself. What Taemin had started was incomplete, and Sulli really wanted Taemin to finish what he was saying.

Flash Back:

“So do you want to know who the special girl’s name is?” Taemin asked. Sulli wanted to speak, but then she was afraid that her identity would be revealed. She just nodded, as Taemin leaned against Sulli’s ear. Sulli’s heart started pumping with eagerness, ready to hear who the name belonged to. Taemin opened his mouth to speak, ready to reveal the name Sulli was looking forward to hear.

“It’s…a secret,” Taemin winked. Sulli hung open wide, staring at Taemin, dumbfounded. She didn’t expect to hear that. She wanted to hear her own name, not a ‘secret.’ She pressed her lips tightly against each other, trying to hide her disappointment. Taemin laughed.

“There was no point of telling you in the first place. I don’t know you, and you don’t know me. So, we’ll probably never have another encounter again,” Taemin smiled. Sulli just stood there, keeping the same, straight expression on her face.

“Well, I should go. Noona will be sobbing all over me. Whew, I really thought that I was a goner! Anyways, bye! Oh, and thanks a lot!” Taemin exclaimed, as he waved his hand. Sulli just waved back, watching Taemin disappear into the streets. 

Flash Back Ended

“Ugh!” Sulli groaned, unable to focus on her homework. Why is Taemin in my mind the first place anyways?