Chapter 004

I was replying to my ex-roommate's message that was still in China when Hayoung suddenly knock on the door. She entered without waiting for my reply with an expression that I didn’t get. She looked like she wanted to talk about something but it was holding her back. Hayoung decided to sit on the chair but then I patted the empty spot next to me. She walked to me lazily and got into under the comforter together.

“What’s up?” I asked her but she was still being a quiet girl. Hayoung was for sure wise but she was rarely this quiet. Something was bothering her and I wanted to know.

“Nothing, I just miss you. You know, the last time you came back was during Chuseok.” She pulled the comforter over as if the room was too cold for her.

“Spill the beans, Hayoung. You’re not acting as yourself. Something is on. Tell me, did Sungjong annoy you when I was gone?” I was sure that Sungjong had done something to Hayoung but then she shook her head, denying my guess.

“Then, what is it?” I asked her after putting down my phone. My sister was my priority now. I looked at her, as if I was tapping my feet, waiting for her to speak up.

“I like someone.” She finally spoke as if she hated the fact that I was glaring at her non-stop. Her cheeks were tinted with red shades and she pulled the comforter over her face to cover her face. I found myself grinning alone, my little sister finally develop her feelings on someone. Although I didn’t know who it was, I couldn’t stop grinning.

“Who is it?” I asked her, wanting to find out a few more things from her. She shook her head under the table, telling me that she didn’t want to answer my question.

“Oh, come on. I’m your big sister, tell me. Tell me.” I shook her arms, wanting the answer as she kept shaking her head. I started to tickle her, causing Hayoung to throw the comforter off the bed and laughed wholeheartedly.

“Okay, okay. Stop unnie, I’ll tell you.” Hayoung put her hands up, admitting that she had lost our little fight. She stopped laughing to catch up her breath while I jumped off the bed, picking up the comforter that she had thrown away earlier.

“Hayoung, I’m waiting.” I said when I realised it had been a while since the tickle fight and Hayoung was back to being the quiet girl. I must admit that I didn’t like this side of her. Hayoung might be an annoying little sister but a quiet Hayoung was just a no.

“His name is Shinwoo. His real name is Shin Dongwoo but I call him Shinwoo. It sounds cuter that way and it suits him.” She paused for a few minutes and continued, “He is around your age and he went to the same university as Woohyun oppa. He said that I don’t have to call him ‘oppa’ because I looked mature.” Hayoung was red as a tomato and when she wanted to pull the comforter over her head, I quickly pull the comforter to my side.

I shook my head at her and said, “It’s not enough. Spill more. I want to know more things like why you like him and why you are attracted to him. I want to know everything.”

She looked at me, sighing then said “Unnie, why can’t I tell you slowly? Like one story per night. I might explode now. I know my face is bright red now and I feel so hot.” while fanning her face as if it was the hottest day ever for her.

I shook my head and Hayoung groaned. Silence started to fill the room as Hayoung insisted the she only wanted to tell me a story, not the whole story. She was fiddling with the comforter while I, once again on the phone, replying to my friends’ texts. Hayoung broke down the silence by saying, “Unnie, are you sure that you want to marry him?”

It didn’t take me forever to understand what Hayoung was referring to. It was for sure, the guy who lived across our house, Nam Woohyun. The guy who I agreed to marry. Hayoung’s question was something that I hadn’t asked myself after volunteering out of all sudden to Woohyun.

“I’m sure.” The words came out from my mouth as if it was the easiest thing to say. As easy singing the alphabet song. Hayoung shrugged as if she was able to read my mind at that moment. As if she knew that I wasn’t sure with my decision of marrying Woohyun. One thing for sure, I like that smile on Woohyun’s face when I said ‘yes’ after he asked whether I really wanted to be his bride or not.

*****

I looked at the left side of the bed and knew that Hayoung had woken up earlier to get ready for her school. On the other hand, I rolled on the bed instead of getting up to get ready to have breakfast. I had been thinking about Hayoung’s question last night when she fell asleep. It took me a bowl of instant noodles and two glasses of coffee for me to conclude that I was so sure about my marriage with Woohyun.

My eyes were hurting from the sun rays that entered through the opened windows. Hayoung must have left it opened, I thought. I rolled back to the right side of the bed and checked my phone just to find tons of miss calls and a few text messages. They were mostly from Bomi and surprisingly, the girls. They must have gotten my numbers from Bomi or Hayoung.

A text from Woohyun, dated a few minutes ago caught my eyes. He ha