One Year Later - Jessica and Onew

Reunion

“Aerin?”

As soon as the door opened, Aerin turned around nervously, confirming that her assumptions were right. Before her stood another tall, chestnut brown-headed man who wore a sweet smile--a smile that Aerin could never forget. It was him.

“Luhan.”

“Welcome back, Aerin.” Without any hesitation, Luhan wrapped his long, slender arms around the girl. It has been a year since the two of them last saw each other, so his body couldn't help but act on impulse upon seeing Aerin in person, wanting to relive the last moment they had when the girl last visited. Unlike before, he felt warmer this time. A small part of him that had been missing for past years suddenly came back and made his whole being feel complete. Luhan missed Aerin, and he couldn’t deny it and wouldn’t even make any effort in hiding it anymore. “I’ve been waiting for you for so long. Where have you been? It’s already dark. Why were you late?”

Aerin chuckled upon hearing Luhan’s words. The male has always been a worrywart—a trait that Aerin couldn't decide if she liked or not. “Chill Luhan, I just brought some of my old things at the center.”

“Oh, is that so?” Luhan asked, his voice lowering this time. A minute passed with Aerin just standing still in the arms when he decided to speak up. “I've missed you,” he said with a soft expression.

At that moment, Aerin felt her heart beating faster. She felt her body stiffen in his arms as she opened slightly, not knowing what to say. She knew that replying with an ‘I missed you too’ would be the expected response, but she closed her lips. Instead, she pushed herself away from the male with a small smile, which in turn earned her an unexplainable look. Ignoring the male’s expression, she entered the house, taking deep breaths as if trying to calm herself down. Calm the down, Aerin. Thankfully, her internal mantra worked. The moment she stepped foot inside, she caught the scent of food she had been craving for this afternoon, completely distracting her from what just happened a moment ago. “You made kimchi jun?”

“Yeah…I know you’d want to eat that when you come back,” Luhan answered, following behind Aerin with a displeased look. He had expected for the girl to act the way she did, but a small part of him still hoped and wanted to try. He had said it with much effort and honesty, but he also knew that things weren’t going to be that simple. He was thwarted, but he wouldn’t let the feeling get the best of him. Putting on his former smile, Luhan prepared the utensils they were going to use for dinner as he saw Aerin already seated by the dining table. “I thought you weren’t coming back this year though?”

Tapping her fingertips on the table top, Aerin watched with a grin as Luhan moved around in the kitchen like he actually owned it. It was an amusing sight, considering, he was only twenty-three. “Change of plans. Mom remarried and instead of seeing her flirt with her new husband, I’d much rather come back here. Well, my high school also has this summer camp, but I don’t find sleeping in the wilderness for weeks to be fun at all.”

A short laugh escaped Luhan’s lips as he slowly brought the plates filled with kimchi jun he had made to the dining table. “So do you like your stepfather?”

“Yeah, he’s pretty cool and nice,” Aerin said, her gaze focused on the delicious pancake laid out in front of her. She was about to take a piece when she suddenly remembered a thought, prompting her to hold out her hand in front of Luhan. “Speaking of which, can I borrow your phone?”

Without questioning her action, Luhan obliged and quickly handed his phone to the girl. However, curiously with an eyebrow raised, he listened in and a few moments later, a familiar voice spoke. “Luhan?”

“Mom, it’s me,” Aerin answered, placing the phone on speaker and setting it down on the table beside her so that she could start eating. “I forgot to call you earlier so I just borrowed Luhan’s phone.”

“Oh, that’s fine, dear. At least you remembered to call me. I was beginning to worry, you know.” Minae’s voice resonated from the phone as Aerin shrugged. Luhan took a seat across from her as they heard Minae speaking again. “So you’re with Heegun and Luhan?”

“Only Luhan. Dad went back to Seoul at noon after he dropped me off here at the house.”

A long, silent pause followed after Aerin’s words, but she didn’t regret what she had said. She simply told the truth, and she knew that her mom thought of the same thing as well. “Luhan’s there, right? Can he hear me?”

With full, Aerin didn’t respond and just passed Luhan’s phone back to him. The male shook his head in amusement before wiping his hand clean. “Hello Aunty Minae, this is Luhan speaking.”

“Luhan, I know you’ve been doing well since you’re a responsible young man whom I like so I’ll cut down to the chase,” Minae said, raising both Aerin and Luhan's curiosity. Shuffling was heard before Minae’s voice came back. “I trust that you’ll stay by Aerin’s side like how you usually do, so please take good care of her while she’s there, okay?”

“Mom!” Aerin exclaimed, dropping her metal chopsticks on her plate with an annoyed expression. Minae could be so nosy at times that it almost made Aerin see her as an actual mom. The older female’s personality didn’t match her daughter’s. Luckily for Aerin, she only inherited her mom’s physical appearance, but if she were to think about it, she still preferred inheriting her dad’s looks.

“Of course, auntie, I’ll take good care of Aerin,” Luhan answered back, fighting back a laugh from seeing Aerin all fumed up.

“You’re such a dear, Luhan,” Minae said sweetly, completely ignoring her daughter’s complaints. “I might not be able to talk to her that much since Aerin refused to get a local network there, but I guess she’ll be fine since you will be with her.”

Successfully snatching the phone back from Luhan’s grasp after a couple of tries, Aerin glared at the male before pursing her lips at the phone. “Okay mom, we need to go. We’re eating dinner right now.”

“Okay then. Ben and I are going out anyway so let’s talk again once you’re free. Take care, okay? I love you, dear,” Minae said in her sweetest voice possible, making Aerin forget about her annoyance as she smiled sincerely. She then bid a few goodbyes before ending the call.

“Maybe I should really get a local network here,” Aerin said, eyeing Luhan’s phone with creased brows before catching the male’s eyes on her. “What do you think?”

“You don’t have to,” Luhan said, taking a drink from his glass before speaking again. “You can just use that one. Your dad gave it to me when I started helping out his business.”

“Cool, thanks,” Aerin simply said, her voice sounding off as she nodded a couple of times. “So you really did become an intern there.”

Noticing Aerin's sudden mood change, Luhan hesitated in answering. In the end, he decided to respond cautiously. “You know how I’ve always admired your dad.”

“And he has always liked you as well…” Aerin mumbled, almost inaudibly. Seeing as their topic was slowly steering towards a path she didn’t quite like, Aerin breathed heavily and smiled at Luhan, much to his relief. “So I guess you’re going to be my babysitter again this summer?”

“Looks like it,” Luhan said, giving a smile that was a bit livelier than the one before. “I’m not complaining though.”

“You shouldn’t. This will be my last time here anyway.”

Hearing Aerin, Luhan froze as he felt uneasiness settle in. “What do you mean?”

“After I turn eighteen, I’m going to separate from my mom and live by myself,” Aerin said, her facial expression remaining placid, not caring the least bit about how the male in front of her would respond. “I won’t come back here anymore.”

Luhan's face paled in disbelief as if a bucket of cold water was thrown over him. He tried to remain composed about the news, but his mixed facial expressions practically gave him away. He was flabbergasted, but most of all, he was disheartened. “Are you sure about that? I mean, how would you fend for yourself? What will you do? Why…”

Aerin didn’t miss the disappointment on Luhan’s face for she had already expected that reaction from him. Knowing Luhan for almost ten years, she knew that he would take the news negatively, but it didn’t stop her from telling him her plans. It’s not that she wanted to sadden the male, but rather, she wanted him to know the truth since he was still a part of her life, no matter what.

“Luhan, I’m