The next day was Saturday. I heard sounds of something hitting my window again and again. I got off bed and opened the curtain. Dae Hyun grinned from the other side of the window. It was clear that he just woke up. His hair was still messy and he was still wearing his white t-shirt as the change of a pajama.

I opened my window and cold air hit my room in an instant. I shivered and covered my body with my arms.

“Good morning,” he greeted with a wide smile.

“Morning,” I answered. I let out a yawn and covered my face with my hands.

“You look hot,” he grinned again.

I rolled my eyes. Who was he kidding? “You look like a bird just built up a nest on your head,” I grinned back.

“Oh!” he reached out for his head and then laughed, I followed. “What’s your plan today?”

“Sleeping all day long if you two didn’t wake me up giggling all the way!” Jong Up answered from his window with messy hair and half closed eyes, which looked totally closed since his eyes were so small. “Excuse me, this one,” he pointed at himself, “still at a growing age. He NEEDS his sleep. So please turn down your voices and stop shouting at each other,” he closed his window and I looked at Dae Hyun who also looked startled by my brother’s sudden appearance.

We laughed again quite loud. Jong Up showed up again. “Why don’t you guys just go on a date and let me sleep. Please…,” with that he closed the window again along with the curtain.

Dae Hyun grinned wider. “You know, your brother just told me to ask you to go on a date. What do you say?” He wiggled his eyebrows.

I pretended to think while it was clear what I will say even if he didn’t ask. “Hmm… I think it will look kind of pathetic if you go on a date alone, so I’ll say yes,” I smiled widely.

“I’ll see you in 30 minutes then?”

“30 minutes,” I nodded. He waved before I closed the door again. I was skipping toward the door with blooming heart when I walked past my table and saw the plastic bag I left there last night. I stopped and reached the bag and opened the three super expensive kinds of medicine out of it. I silently sigh.

Dae Hyun knew now. He accepted it fairly well. He accepted me well, despite the fact that I have this disease inside of me. I have to be strong… for Dae Hyun. For my family… so they won’t notice that I even have any diseases.

I took each one of the medicine and drank it with the bottled water. I shoved the pain killer inside my bag so it will be ready if I need it in urgent.

I took a deep breath before plastering another smile on my face. Today is going to be a date day with Dae Hyun. I don’t want to worry about this thing again. I want to enjoy life before anything can take it away from me.

***

“So, what do you want to do next week?” Dae Hyun asked while we were cycling in Yeouido Park. I held to his waist tighter as he pretended to bob left and right with the bike.

“Watch out!” I slapped his back. “What’s with next week?” I asked back.

“Huh?” He looked back to me and laughed. “Don’t tell me you forget you own birthday.”

Oh! Right. It was nearing December. My birthday was on early December. “Ah, it’s December already? I forgot.”

He laughed again. “Really? Then now that you remember, what do you want for present?”

I looked at the sky. I wanted to do more dates with Dae Hyun. I wanted to spend as much time as possible with Dae Hyun. I want Dae Hyun and just Dae Hyun.

“I want Dae Hyun,” I said. I hugged him from the back again and leaned on his back while we cycled through the cold weather through the park near Han River.

He chuckled. “That doesn’t count. You can’t get what you already have. I won’t allow you to have two Dae Hyuns. There only can be one Dae Hyun for every Jeong Ae,” he answered while kept pedaling.

“Is that so?” I smiled to his cheesy answer.

“That is so,” he nodded. “Now tell me another one. Do you want a teddy bear as big as a house?” he asked again.

“I already have Jong Up,” I told him, grinning at the thought of my bulky little brother.

“You know, Jong Up is a big boy now. I think he will appreciate it if you stop calling him your little cub or your teddy bear. He will be embarrassed if keep doing that. You still call him those names, aren’t you?”

I pouted and snorted. “He didn’t seem to mind. I called him my cub in front of Jun Hong and he didn’t say anything. Neither did Jun Hong,”

“That because Jun Hong is Jong Up’s friend since they were on their Ommas’ wombs,” I could practically hear him rolling his eyes. “Jong Up is fifteen. He probably has a girlfriend already. Now if you would stop calling him your bear it would be great for him.”

I released my hands from his waist and jumped off the moving bicycle. He stopped abruptly and looked back.

“What are you doing?! That was dangerous, you might get hurt!”

 I glared to him. What was his problem really? “Jong Up is MY brother! I can call him anything I want whether it bother him or not. I don’t care what his girlfriend says. He will be my cub even if he got married and becoming a grandpa. Moon Jong Up will always be a little cub for me!” I put my hands on my waist and stomped away from him.

“Jeong Ae-yah!” I could hear he turned the bike and now he was pedaling beside me. “I get it. I’m sorry. Now please get on again.”

“What do you get?” I glared on his pleading face.

“I get it. Jong Up will always will be your little cute brother no matter what happen…  and you have a brother complex,” he nodded as if what he just said was right.

“I am not having a brother complex!” I glared again.

He smiled sheepishly. He reached out and held my hand in his. “You don’t? Okay… I’m sorry. I was… umm, just kind of jealous of your brother, I think.”

“Jealous?” I smiled and came closer when he pulled me to him. “Of Jong Up? Why?”

“Well because that brother of your is nowhere near cute with his big bulky body yet you keep calling him cute names as if he’s a fluffy Panda,” he circled my waist with his arm. “How do I look in your eyes? I’m not as bulky as he is… will you call me with cute names too?”

I laughed as I circled my arms around his neck.  “You did know that Jong Up was really cute when he was a baby, right?” he shrugged but smiled as tucked my hair behind my ear. “What do you want me to call you then? Darling? Honey? Baby?”

“I like how Baby sounds, Baby…,” he pulled me closer.

“But I don’t want to call you Baby. I want to call you Dae Hyun, my Dae Hyun, you don’t have any other name,” I hugged him and he hugged me back.

“Fine… my Jeong Ae too.”

I suddenly remembered his earlier question about what was I going to do next week. “Dae hyun… come to my house for my birthday dinner next week?”

He let me go and looked right to my eyes. “Are you sure?” I nodded and he hugged me again. “As you wish.”