“Noonado alji you the bestest…”

“Yah! Choi Junhong! Stop following me around!” She yelled at me. I know she was trying to get ready for one of her morning classes, and I should be getting ready for school, but somehow annoying her sounded like more fun at this point.

“But noona is jjang!” I said, wrapping my arms around her shoulder as she tried to dodge me again.

“Junhong-ah, noona is going to give you three seconds before I call Yongguk oppa in here and he’ll tear you away from me.” She said, twisting in my arms until she was facing me. Panic shot across my body as I saw the look in her eyes, knowing that my time with her was about to be cut short.

“One.” She started, but I held my ground and held on tighter.

“Two.” I watched one of her eyebrows raise as I still held onto her, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“Three.” Crap. I’m about to die.

“Oppa!” She yelled, and I soon heard Yongguk hyung making his way into her room. Hyung just looked at the two of us before he nodded his head at me. I released my arms and felt the cold air come over them after holding onto her for so long.

“Junhong-ah, leave Joo Ah alone, she’s trying to get ready for school. You should be doing the same. Hyung said, pulling me out of noona’s room. I looked back at her and watched as she stuck her tongue out at me as I rounded to corner.

“If you go get ready quickly, I can drop you off at school on my way to work.” Hyung said. I just shook my head before answering.

“Ani, hyung. I’ll just take my skateboard. It’s a nice day out, anyway.” I said, walking towards my room. I saw him nod in acknowledgement before turning around and making his way into the kitchen. It wasn’t until after they left the house that I set out for school.

I felt the wind rush around me as I pushed off harder to go faster. That’s when my mind began to wander. I don’t remember the first time I realized that I loved her. I didn’t even know when I started to feel anything for her other than brotherly affection.

I was adopted and taken into the Bang family when I was nine years old. Yongguk hyung was the only one there the first time I moved into their home. Joo Ah noona was away at summer camp. I was nervous about having a sister since I had spent the first nine years of my life living with all boys. I didn’t even know the first thing about girls.

That day it was beyond hot. Incheon’s summer was coming to an end, but the heat was still getting to everyone. I was sitting in the living room watching TV and waiting for Mrs. Bang to get back with Joo Ah noona. This was the first day that I was going to meet her. Yongguk hyung was out with his friends and he was the only one I had grown close to that summer in the Bang house.

I heard a commotion through the front door and turned around to see what was going on. It looked like I was looking at an angel that was walking the earth. Her skin was slightly tanned from being in the sun all summer and had a slight sheen of sweat covering her body that made her look like she was shining. I felt my breath catch in my throat as she looked up and locked eyes with me.

“Umma, who’s that?” I heard the angel say.

“Oh! I almost forgot! Remember how I wrote you and said that your father and I wanted another child. Well, we decided to adopt a child. Junhong-ah, come here a second.” I heard Mrs. Bang say.

I hesitantly got up off the couch and walked towards the two older women, the entire time I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.

“Joo Ah-yah, this is Choi Junhong. He’s your new brother.” Mrs. Bang said.

“Annyeong, Junhong, Bang Joo Ah imnida. I’m your noona!” All it took was for one handshake from her to know that the rest of his time spent living is this house was about to become very complicated.

Even after we moved out of the Bang house and moved to Seoul to be closer to both Yongguk hyung’s work as a producer for TS Entertainment and Joo Ah noona’s studying at Seoul University, I never stopped loving her.

HI had a choice to stay in Incheon or move with them the Seoul, and it was obvious to him which choice to make. Though it was hard to leave my friends and the people who took me in, it was nothing compared to the pain I would have felt I hadn’t come with them.

Later that night, as I was studying in the kitchen waiting for hyung and noona to come home, I heard laughter coming from outside the apartment door. I looked up from my book to see noona walking in the door with a man behind her.

“Oh, Junhong-ah, you’re home?” She asked, surprised to see me studying instead of outside somewhere, hanging with my friends.

“Ah, neh.” I answered, my gaze still fixed on the man behind her.”

“Ah, yes! Junhong-ah, let me introduce you to Jung Daehyun, my boyfriend.” She said and it felt like my world had just stopped.

“Hi Junhong, it’s nice to meet you.” This Daehyun man said, reaching his hand in front of him to shake mine. I swallowed the lump in the back of my throat and took his hand.

“Noona, I didn’t know you had a boyfriend.” I said, looking back towards her. She looked like she was glowing as she stood next to this man.

“Well, we haven’t been dating for very long. Just a few weeks.” She said, turning to look at the man. I watched as they exchanged smiles. That’s when I knew it was too late for me. But just seeing that look on noona’s face was enough for me. I just hope he knows that she doesn’t just have a protective older brother, but a younger one as well.