In Your Eyes - Craig Lyons

Love

“What do we have here? Little Aerin and her playmate having a date.”

Confirming the identity of the voice's owner, both Aerin and Sehun’s face turned dark and all amusement had gone, only to be replaced with utter aggravation. Yoon Dahee.

Their attention quickly averted to the tall, blonde male who had suddenly placed an arm around Dahee’s shoulder. “Who are they, hon?” Seeing both Aerin and Sehun's stares, the male then smirked. “Your friends?”

Seeing the closeness between Dahee and the male, a sudden wave of pure anger surged up within Aerin. It wasn’t because the female had another boyfriend other than her dad—she could care less about that—but it was because Dahee had the guts to show up right in front of her with him. It was as if the older female was showing off to her how easily she could leech money off of Heegun, and it sickened her in knowing that, more so since no matter how hard she tried to think otherwise, she knew it deep down that it was true.

“She’s my stepdaughter, and that kid sitting there’s her boyfriend,” Dahee said as she pointed to Sehun. She then turned back to Aerin and smiled. “Am I right, sweetheart?”

Aerin didn’t respond, not because she was ashamed of Sehun, but she believed that there was no need for her to explain herself in front of Dahee. The woman wasn’t her mother, much less her relative, so what right did she have to intrude in her life?

However, Sehun misunderstood Aerin's silence. He felt perturbed for he didn’t really know why the girl wouldn’t answer back. Was she ashamed of him or was she intimidated by Dahee? Knowing Aerin, both theories were unlikely, but he was being paranoid of the different thoughts that were entering his mind.

Unable to maintain his calm composure any longer, Sehun suddenly stood up just after the doctor finished piercing his ear. “Yes, I’m Aerin’s boyfriend… but I don’t think you’re Aerin’s stepmother, though,” Sehun said in a questioning tone, ignoring Aerin's surprised expression. “You’re not even Uncle Heegun’s wife, so why are you suddenly introducing yourself as one?” Sehun raised an eyebrow while donning an expressionless face. His earlobe was pulsing in pain, and the sight of Dahee and her date only annoyed him even more, but he wasn’t going to let his emotions show, for he knew that the older female would only take pleasure in seeing them disconcerted.

Sehun's hunches were right. Dahee was indeed amused by the show the two teenagers were putting up, and in realization of that, a chuckle escaped from her lips. “Feisty as well. Just what I like.” Dahee gave a sultry smile, eyeing Sehun as if he were a piece of candy. “You are indeed Luhan's younger brother.”

Dahee’s actions appalled Aerin and Sehun, but before either of them could answer back, the doctor who had attended to Sehun suddenly called him back, saying that they still weren’t done. Sehun only got more annoyed, for that would mean that he would have to leave Aerin alone with the she-devil. “Are you going to be okay?” Sehun whispered to Aerin with a concerned look. He didn’t really want to leave her and was hoping that she would ask him to stay behind.

Despite the fact that Aerin was a very quiet person, she wasn’t one to depend on others. “Why wouldn’t I be?” Aerin asked back, her unreadable expression changing into a calm one. Truthfully, she didn’t want Sehun to leave her, but she knew that letting him stay anywhere near Dahee wasn’t a very good idea. He wasn’t even supposed to be involved in their argument, and making him stay would only make things more complicated. “Just go, I’ll wait for you.”

Eventually, Sehun unwillingly obliged and ran back to the piercing booth. As luck would have it, the booth's cash register broke, so the doctor had to drag Sehun to a farther booth to complete his purchase. Sehun was really annoyed for not being able to keep watch on Aerin, but he knew that complaining would only prolong things, so he kept quiet.

Aerin was thankful that Sehun got dragged to a farther booth; this way, he wouldn’t be able to hear any of her and Dahee’s conversation. Her thoughts were then brought back once she heard Dahee's date’s voice. “Hey hon, seems like you’re going to take longer. I’m going to look around for a bit as well, 'kay?” the man said as Dahee nodded. They kissed in parting right in front of Aerin, making her cringe in disgust, before the male finally set off to the opposite side of the market.

Turning her attention back to Dahee, Aerin raised an eyebrow. “Where’s Dad?”

“I left him in Jeju since he still has some business to take care of there. He said that I should go ahead because he still doesn’t know when he’ll be back,” Dahee answered plainly, crossing her arms. “Good thing I followed him though, since I was able to spend some time with my friend.” She smiled sweetly, hoping to annoy Aerin more.

And it did work, for Aerin found herself boiling inside. “You really are sick.”

“I don’t care.” Dahee raised an eyebrow curtly. “We’re just the same, don’t you know? Look at you.” She eyed Aerin from head to toe before scoffing. “You’re going for Sehun now.” Aerin gritted her teeth at the older female’s words, and seeing how hard her expression was, Dahee mockingly laughed. “Should I get to know him as well? You never know, he might be the same as him.” Dahee snickered in satisfaction, seeing the disconcerted look on Aerin’s face. She then leaned towards her ear and spoke. “After all, I was the one that he really liked…you were just a rebou—“

“Try getting anywhere near Sehun,” Aerin said in a hard tone. “Just try, and you’ll regret that you even stepped foot here in Busan.”

Dahee stared at Aerin blankly, as if trying to see if the girl was serious or not. Seeing the girl glower at her, she confirmed that Aerin was indeed serious, and guffawed in pure amusement, completely disregarding the stares she was getting from passersby.

It puzzled Aerin as to why Dahee suddenly reacted like that. She knew that the female was crazy, but she didn’t expect her to be insane. Only when the female stopped did Aerin finally realize what was going on. “You’re so funny, Aerin