Ren’s POV

I watched in horror as I spotted my older brother standing outside the gate to 2DREAM’s mansion. How in the world did he find this place? I never, never gave him my address. My contract with Pledis strictly forbade me from doing so. If they found out about this, I could possibly get fired. But that wasn’t my only problem; I wasn’t exactly supposed to be here either. No one in my family had known about my secret night classes and internship to become a stylist. If Minseok found out, he’d tell, wouldn’t he? He’d reveal everything and ruin my life because that’s what older brothers did… at least, that’s what mine did. I bit my fingernails nervously. Wait… why was Minseok here? Wasn’t he supposed to be in America? I sent the e-mail last night. A flight from the U.S to Korea took approximately 14 hours. The timeframe simply didn’t allow it… had Minseok been lying to us all this time about his whereabouts?

The buzzer rang again. Jason was about to push the button to let the gate open when I grabbed his arm. “Don’t open it!” I exclaimed.

“But he’s pretty~~~~!” Jason whined.

“No he’s not; don’t open it!”

“Why not?” Minhyun asked, observing my strange behavior.

“Because he’s not supposed to be here!” I replied. The four of us stared at the image of my brother waiting impatiently at the gate, none of us making a move. A sly smirk spread across Minseok’s lips as he removed his sunglasses and leaned forward into the camera. Jason placed his right hand over his heart and his left hand on his forehead and sighed dramatically.

“Stay still, my beating heart.” Jason said.

“Oh my god, he’s perfect.” Minhyun replied, earning an immediate glance from Aron.

“Shh!” I nudged Jason with my elbow. We continued to watch as Minseok began to punch numbers into the dial pad underneath the buzzer. After a few seconds of tinkering with it, the iron gates slowly swung open. I stared in horror as my brother dusted his hands off and chuckled with satisfaction before making his way up to the front door. I didn’t know what to do. In a moment of panic, I took off running down the hall, slamming the door shut to my room and hiding like a child on the opposite side of the bed adjacent to the door. My heart began to pound loudly inside of my chest as I heard the front door open and the three others greet him.

“Can I help you?” I heard Minhyun ask.

“Sorry to make such an entrance; is there perhaps a Choi Minki at this residence?” Minseok asked.

“Choi Minki…?” Aron asked.

There was a silence before I heard my brother chuckle again. “Well, sometimes he goes by ‘Ren.’”

“Ohhh!” The living room was filled with the sounds of Aron and Minhyun moment of realization. I suddenly panicked when I heard the sounds of heavy footsteps approach my room, followed by the door swinging open to reveal Jason. He barged straight inside and approached me, grabbing me by the back of my collar and literally lifting me up to my feet, proceeding to drag me down the hallway and into the living room. He practically threw me in front of Minseok.

“This is the one you’re looking for, right?”

I sheepishly averted my gaze off to the side, too embarrassed to make eye contact with my brother. Minseok folded his arms across his chest and gave me a stern look. “Mind telling me what you’re doing here, little bro?”

The others watched in amusement at our interactions. I looked up at him. “I could ask you the same thing! Are you a criminal? Do you normally break into residences? Do you know what type of place this is? How did you even find me?”

Minseok took a look around. “A Korean pop star’s penthouse?” He smirked. “Of course not. I work for Samsung, little bro. I make those devices in my sleep. Overwriting a security alarm isn’t that hard, neither is tracking an IP address.”

“Samsung…?”I paused. “Weren’t you supposed to be in America?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be teaching those kids?”

I panicked again. “T-this isn’t about me. This is about mom and dad.” I replied, quickly trying to change the subject. It seemed to work. For a moment Minseok became distracted.

“Mom and dad?” He asked. In my email I had only asked for him to reply; I hadn’t left him any information as to why I was contacting him. Minhyun took this moment to invite him inside, motioning for him to come in.

“Please, come in.” He replied, pulling Minseok inside of the house and closing the door. Both Minhyun and Jason practically fluffed the pillows on the couch, making a spot for my older brother to sit. Minseok watched in amusement, Aron in brooding silence, and myself in annoyance. Why was my brother here? When they finished, Minseok smirked then silently sat down in his specially made spot while Minhyun took Aron by the wrist and Jason by the shirt, leading them to the hallway to give us some privacy. The two of us sat down on the couch. I sat on the edge of my seat as he sat back, relaxed.

“So what’s going on?” Minseok asked.

“Dad broke his leg.”

Minseok smirked. “I’m not surprised.”

“But mom needs help back at home. I obviously don’t live there anymore-” Minseok sat up straight and interrupted me.

“Woah, woah, where is this going? Are you asking me to go back home?”

I narrowed my eyes. “Is that a problem?”

“I left home for a reason, Minki. I’m not going back.”

I paused, shifting my gaze down into my lap. “She thinks you’re ashamed of her…” I whispered. Minseok fidgeted in his seat. I glanced up at him, my blonde bangs falling over my eyes. “Are you?”

“Of course not!” He exclaimed. “Regardless, I’m not going back. You do it-”

I slammed my fist down on my leg. “NO!” I angrily exclaimed. Minseok stared at me with wide eyes.

“Minki-”

“You’ve already lived your life and have gotten to do what it is that you want to do; give me that chance too!”

Minseok laughed. “Is that why you’re here instead of there? Is this your dream?”

“What’s so funny about me following my dream? It might not be as ‘manly’ as working for Samsung, but a dream is still a dream, isn’t it?” I replied, hurt that Minseok would laugh at me. “You had a dream too, didn’t you? You followed yours. Mom and dad didn’t push their expectations on you-”

“Minki, you think they didn’t try? Of course they did; only I had the spine to tell them ‘no.’”

I scoffed. “Well I’m growing that spine now. This is my time; if I don’t chase after what I missed out on now, I’m afraid that I’ll miss that chance forever. Please, go back home. Help them. Prove to mom that you’re not ashamed of her-”

“Dammit, Minki!” Minseok paused. “I’m not ashamed of her; I’m ashamed of myself. Can’t you tell the difference?” He stood up angrily, turning his back to me. “Growing up, I felt so bad to her. People mocked her, made fun of her, attacked her for being different. But there was nothing I could do for her; even now, no matter how hard I study, no matter what type of new technology I develop to assist her ears, she’ll never use it. I felt guilty towards mom because I tried to change her. I tried to give her the gift of hearing, something which she didn’t want. Do you realize how stupid I felt? I’ve spent my entire life trying to help her, but in her eyes, I’m a pest.”

Minseok’s story hit me like a bag of bricks. Growing up, I remembered him always studying and building all sorts of electronic gadgets. Before leaving to study in America, he had attended a university in Korea for a short time, studying engineering before transferring overseas. Before he had left, was it possible that he had developed a sort of hearing aid that would have enabled my mother to hear, and gave it to her, only to be shot down? My mother was very stuck in her ways; she refused to try to let others ‘fix’ her. Was that why Minseok ran away? Because he was embarrassed that his efforts were all in vain?

“Minseok, mom doesn’t hate you for trying to change her. Yes, she thinks you’re ashamed of her, but not because you tried to help her, but because you’ve avoided her for all of these years. Go home, Minseok. She misses you.”

Minseok slowly turned and glanced down at me. “You think so…?”

“You were only trying to help. I know she appreciates the effort, even if she won’t accept your gift.”

He paused before smiling at me. “Yeah, maybe… but that still doesn’t explain why you’re here.” He replied, going back to our previous topic of conversation. “What exactly are you doing here and why can’t you go home?”

I glanced back down into my lap again. “Don’t tell mom and dad, but… I’m back in school to earn my degree in fashion.”

“Fashion?” Minseok laughed. I glanced up and glared at him. He stopped and coughed. “Go on.”

“I’m just one internship away from graduating soon. Before he left, JR managed to help get me an internship job with Pledis; I’ve become 2DREAM’s stylist on the terms that I am required by contract to stay here.”

Minseok glanced over into the hallway behind me. “So you guys are singers?”

My eyes opened wide and I glanced over my shoulder to see all three of them peering out from behind the hall wall. “Guys!” I screamed.

“I’m actually their choreographer; I have a couple of moves, you know.” Jason shot my brother a wink. Minseok gave him an amused smile.

“Good for you, buddy.”

“Good for all of us.” He replied, still eyeing my brother like a piece of candy. I covered my face with my hands. Oh god, this was awkward. Minseok glanced back down at me.

“I won’t tell.”

I was shocked. “Really?”

He smirked. “I’m actually quite proud of you, finally standing up for yourself. But you know you’ll have to tell them eventually, right?”

I glanced down sheepishly. “I know…”

Minseok patted the top of my head. “Alright. I’ll go back home. But you’re skating on thin ice. If they ask me, I won’t lie to them. That means if you’re going to play this game with them, you better do it right and not get caught.”

“Minseok…” My voice trailed off. “Just how long have you been back? In Korea, I mean…”

“Not too long. I took the job with Samsung about a few months ago. Sure, it’s not the type of engineering work I’m used to, and certainly not the type of technology I want to create, but I found myself missing Korea. America was great, but it’s not home. Besides, I needed to check up on you.”

“Me?” I asked, stunned.

“You’ve always been too kind for your own good, you know that? People in this world tend to step all over guys like you. Sue me for worrying about you.”

I narrowed my eyes and pouted. “I’m doing just fine on my own!”

Jason finally broke free from Minhyun’s grasp in the hallway and rejoined us in the living room. “Miss, if I may interrupt for a second-”

I glanced back at Jason angrily. “I’m not a woman!”

Minseok smirked. “Well until you grow a mustache, you’re going to keep having this problem, little brother.”

I stood up and got in Minseok’s face. “You grow a mustache!” The two of us began to bicker like a couple of school children. Minseok grabbed me by my shoulders and dug his thumbs in between my collarbones and my neck, almost bringing me down to my knees in misery and pain. Finally I gave in and cried for mercy. Minseok gave me a satisfied smirk then turned his attention over to Jason.

“You needed something?”

Jason shot Minseok a wink. “Are you free this afternoon?”

Minseok paused then blinked. “Excuse me?”

“I’m not going to lie; I’m coming onto you. What are you going to do about it?” Jason boldly declared. Minseok went silent for a moment as his words reached his ears. Within an instant he threw his head back and laughed hysterically, as if it had been some sort of joke. Um, hyung, he’s not joking…

Minseok leaned forward to catch his breath. He glanced back over at Jason once he had calmed down, but it was no use. He began to laugh once again. “Oh my god, that was a good one. And you said it with such a straight face too. Minki-”

“Ren,” I corrected him, folding my arms across my chest in defiance on the floor.

“Whatever; have you had lunch? I’m starving. Let’s go out.” He replied. His words or behavior seemed to have no effect on Jason. Jason jumped at the chance.

“Can we join???”

Minhyun suddenly stepped forward. “Yes, can we?” He asked with hopeful eyes.

Aron gave Minhyun an uneasy look. “You actually want to go?”

Minhyun shot Aron a dirty look and nudged him with his elbow. “Stay out of this!” Minhyun muttered underneath his breath. Aron scoffed.

“Forget it, I’m not going!” Aron declared.

Minseok smiled, “Sure. The more the merrier.”

“Changed my mind; I’m going.” Aron quickly changed his mind; he had probably thought Minseok was going to turn them away, however, when he said they could join apparently that changed everything. Oh, hyung, what have you done? You invited a bunch of overgrown children out to lunch with us. This could only end in disaster.

Baekho’s POV

As I returned home from the store, I angrily stormed inside of the mansion carrying several bags and slammed the door shut behind me. I entered the kitchen and practically threw the bags on the table. I stared down into one of the bags as the scene where I had left Ren in the grocery parking lot kept replaying in my mind. How in the world did he find me there? Was it possible that he really did follow me? From when? How long had he been tailing me that I hadn’t even noticed? I felt my heart race; did he know? Did he know something was wrong with me, that I couldn’t hear worth anymore? No… he couldn’t know. I wasn’t ready for anyone else to know. It was bad enough Pledis, JB and Minhyun knew about it. But Ren… I didn’t want him to know. Not now, not ever.

I scoffed. I could just picture it the moment Ren found out; it’s always been in his nature to want to help others. I couldn’t get the guy out of my space when I was normal, but now that I was hearing impaired, if he found out he would never leave my side. But… was that such a bad thing? I shook my head; Baekho, you’re so stupid, you’re so crazy. Ren doesn’t feel that way about you; hell, he told you not to try to sway his heart away from that bastard over in NYC. Ha, however well that was going. That relationship was probably about to crumble any day now. I gripped my fists angrily. If you two break up, you better not come crying to me, Ren. I won’t accept you. In fact, just don’t. Don’t even bother wasting your time showing up in front of me again. I don’t want to see you. Just get out of my life!

I desperately collapsed to my knees on the kitchen floor. I’m lying to myself, aren’t I…? If Ren showed up by my side once again, I probably wouldn’t have the heart to be cruel to him again. It was funny how easy it was in the past to hurt that kid’s feelings and feel no remorse, but now, now it was too difficult. Leaving him in the parking lot was painful. I even hated myself for doing that to him. But I couldn’t risk it. I’d rather Ren not know and keep his distance rather than for him to find out and possibly disappear forever.

I brought my hands to my forehead. “I’m going crazy… someone, help me…” What’s the use? No one is going to help you, Baekho. You keep pushing everyone away, even those who offered to help. My mind flashed back to JB and my heart started to ache again. How could he have such faith in me? How did he know I could still sing? I didn’t even know! How could I do it once again? How could I live up to everyone’s expectations of me when I had none in myself?

I glanced over into the empty living room, staring over at the open grand piano. Was it possible…? Could I… could I still sing? I slowly rose to my feet and made my way over, sitting down in front of the piano. I hesitated before bringing my fingers to the keys. I wouldn’t be able to hear it, would I? I refrained from pressing the keys down. I was scared. Music… it was my everything. My world just didn’t make sense without it. But even still… you have to try, Baekho.

I pressed down on the keys and began to play my solo song “Happy Birthday” that I had recorded around the time I had first debuted. It was a special track that showcased my ability as main vocal and lead singer. I began to play by memorization. Although I was pressing the keys, I could barely make out anything. In fact, the only way I knew that music was pouring out from the piano was the fact that I could feel the chords vibrate underneath the keys. A raw, stinging pain swept through my body and my chest tightened. Practically shaking, I began my chorus.

“On a cold winter day, God sent an angel on earth for one person. After a long time passed, that angel who has given so much love had been hurt and shed some tears, but the angel still smiled at me…” I could barely even hear my own voice. By now I was visibly trembling, but still, somehow I found the courage and continued to sing after taking a deep breath.

“…after we loved and separated for a bit. This is the angel’s first birthday… I can’t be next to you but happy birthday, happy birthday, I thank the one that made you be born, once again, happy birthday-” I couldn’t continue on. I slowly leaned forward and spread my arms across the keys, bending over and sobbing into the piano. I could barely hear myself, but even I was aware that I wasn’t the same. I couldn’t match my voice to the accompaniment because I couldn’t hear it. My timing was probably extremely off, but I wouldn’t have known it.

I angrily slammed my fist into the keys. Dammit! Why did it have to be this way? Why did it have to be me? I didn’t deserve this! No! I wasn’t ready to give up my dream! I just want to go back. I wanted to go back to the way things were. I wanted to go back to living with DREAM and Ren inside of that house. I just… I don’t know what to do…

I stood up and marched down to the basement door, swinging it open and climbing down the stairs and into the cellar. I yanked on the string that turned the light on, illuminating the entire racks and shelves my parents had filled with various different wines. I reached forward and grabbed a random bottle. I popped the cork out and began to drink the disgusting liquid straight from the bottle, warming my throat as it traveled all the way down. I collapsed to my knees, but I didn’t stop drinking. I was practically drowning myself with it; wine began to pour out from the corners of my mouth and trickle onto my hoodie, making a mess. I placed the bottle down and removed my sweatshirt, pulling my shirt off with it. Once it was off I threw it across the cellar and picked the bottle back up and continued from where I had left off. My mission was to numb my body, to make the physical anguish stop. Losing my hearing was one thing, but the feelings that accompanied that loss were another. They were unbearable; they were making me lose my mind.

I threw the bottle across the room and it burst into pieces, spilling wine everywhere. I let my hands fall to my side and I leaned back against a shelf, my head propped back and staring into space. I don’t want to live like this anymore…

Aron’s POV

The five of us sat at a long rectangular table inside of a ramyun shop. I hadn’t really wanted to go with them, but with the strange way Minhyun was acting towards Ren’s so-called brother, I very well couldn’t have just stayed behind, could I? It was funny; one moment Min’s accusing me of my wavering feelings and then the next he’s almost down someone else’s throat. Ha. Are you doing this to me on purpose, Minhyun, for revenge? I honestly thought Jason was playing around, and actually I still do. No sane person is able to throw himself around like that at other people, are they? Jason is just a clown; your worries are for nothing. Besides, if you don’t know how I feel about you even after I confessed, you’re the dense one, not me! But jealousy isn’t my style. I’m worried, yes, but it’s not obvious like how you were around Jason.

Minhyun leaned forward and grabbed a piece of meat with his chopsticks, placing it in Minseok’s bowl. My eye twitched as I watched them interact. Minseok gave him a surprised look but smiled warmly and thanked him. Minhyun coyly nodded and glanced back down at his own bowl. I picked up my bowl and held it toward him, waiting for him to give me a piece as well. Minhyun glared at me, acting as if I were the one embarrassing him.

“Stop it!” Minhyun whispered to me.

I scoffed then placed my bowl back down on the table, silently brooding. This wasn’t fair. Minhyun was dating me, not Minseok.

Jason stared at Minseok as he ate. “Yeah, you’re definitely hotter than your sister-”

“I will stab you in the eye!” Ren screamed from the opposite end of the table, gripping his chopstick with his shaking fist. Jason smirked, glancing over at Ren briefly before returning his attention back over to Minseok. I mentally laughed; Minseok was hot? I didn’t see it. He just looked like an older, slightly more masculine version of Ren, only with brown hair. What was so great about him? I didn’t see it.

Minseok laughed awkwardly, looking Jason’s way. “Yeaaaah, that’s not a weird thing at all to say.”

Jason continued to admire him. “It’s like god spent just a little bit more time on you-”

THUD!

Ren slammed his head against the table, startling the rest of us. “Please, stop…” He begged.

I glanced down at my watch before grabbing Minhyun by the arm. “We need to get going for our next schedule soon.”

Minhyun’s eyes opened wide. “I completely forgot!”

“What, that we’re stars?” I looked at him like he was crazy.

Minhyun sheepishly glanced off to the side. “His presence is just that strong; I became confused.”

Confused? Were we the celebrities or was Minseok? He was just some stupid engineer for Samsung! I tightened my grip on his elbow and pulled him up with me. “We’re leaving.” I replied bitterly then glanced over at Minseok. “It was nice meeting you, but we have to leave first. Hyung, Ren, later.”

Minhyun bowed. “I’m sure we’ll see you again?” I glared daggers at him for asking such a question.

Minseok smiled then nodded. “Sure thing. See you later.”

“Bye- OW!” Minhyun screeched as I yanked him away from the table and out from the shop. When the two of us were finally outside, Minhyun pulled his arm away from me and stopped dead in his tracks. He gave me an irritated, questioning look. “What was that?” He asked, demanding to know what was going on. I shifted my gaze downward. I didn’t want him to know I was jealous of all the attention that he was giving Minseok, especially because I was convinced that he was doing it on purpose just to ruffle my feathers. Minhyun obviously only had eyes for me, right?

“I’m mad, because…” My voice trailed off. Think of something, Kwak. “You gave away your food!” I exclaimed. Minhyun gave me a startled expression before placing his right hand over his mouth. “How can you get any better if you’re constantly giving your food away?”

“I was just trying to be polite…”He replied, sounding much like a guilty child that was being scolded. When I noticed this I instantaneously felt terrible, using his eating disorder as an excuse to cover up my being jealous. I reached forward and put my hand on his shoulder.

“Mmm, forget it. Tomorrow’s always another day. Let’s get going.” I replied and Minhyun nodded, the two of us heading towards the Pledis building.

After our schedule of endless planned meetings, leaving us bored out of our skulls, Minhyun had managed to fall asleep in his chair inside of the board room at Pledis. Together with JB we helped transport the sleeping giant into JB’s van. After securing Minhyun inside, I slid the door shut, remaining standing outside. JB gave me a questioning glance. I urged for him to go on without me. I had other business to take care of on my own. He nodded and left without a word, driving off with my passed out boyfriend in the backseat. I still felt terrible about what had happened earlier. I needed to find a way to make it up to him. Well, I had a lot of things to make up to him, apparently. My cluelessness about Jason, my jealousy caused by Ren’s older brother, and of course there was still the matter of his phone that I had shattered. To be honest, I don’t know what came over me that day that I had broken it. Baekho kept texting, sending him numerous threats. That, along with the repeated ringing drove my ears insane and I just wanted it to stop. Sure, I could have just turned the phone off…. But why hadn’t I done that?

I stared down at my feet as I continued walking into the city. Maybe it was because… that’s what I wished I could do to my own phone? To be honest, carrying that awful thing around with me 24/7 was tiring. This endless waiting game to see if she would call… I found it growing more and more tiresome. Finding myself drifting closer to Min, I felt myself drifting further away from her. Was that necessarily a bad thing? I needed to move on too. I needed to face the fact that if she were really out there, she would have called at least once by now. I was beginning to lose hope that she was still alive, I really was. Of course that would be a miserable thing that I couldn’t possibly prepare myself to hear, but that’s what reality was turning out to be. She was gone and a part of my past now. I needed to focus on the now, the present, and the future. Minhyun was my future, wasn’t he? He actually… he actually made me happy.

I stepped inside of a cell phone shop and stared at all of the various models on display. To be honest, looking at all of these phones made my stomach upset. I was god tired of cellphones, especially mine. I just wanted to be done with them. But I wasn’t here for me; I was here for Min. I had to right at least one wrong that I had committed against him. Starting with the cellphone seemed like the easiest route to take first. I began browsing through all the phones and reading their features on the sign displayed underneath them. What kind of phone would suit him? Minhyun hated the iPhone, so that was out. I walked over to the Android section and spotted the Galaxy s4. I smiled then pointed at it; that was the one. The store clerk nodded and pulled one out from the storage and rang it up for me. I took the bag and hid it in my hoodie pocket in the front. In the case that Minhyun were awake when I got home, I didn’t want him to see it just yet. I wanted it to be a surprise.

I hurried home from the shop. As soon as I entered the front door I shot past Jason who was watching TV with his eyes closed in the living room and made a run for my own room. I immediately locked the door behind me, pulling out the bag from my pocket. I sat down on the edge of my bed and opened the box, taking the phone out. I turned it on and stared at it in amazement. Once it had finished starting up, I tapped on the camera app and the front camera. I paused hesitantly before attempting to take a selca laced with aegyo. I felt insanely stupid every time I did this, but if I could do it for my fans on Instagram, surely I could do it for my boyfriend, right? I put the camera on timer and placed the phone standing upwards. I made a heart shape with my hand and the camera snapped the picture. I looked at the picture; not bad. A small smile crept upon my lips as I set it to the lock screen. My picture would be the first thing Min would see when he turned it on. Perfect. I turned the phone back off and placed it back inside of the box, hiding it underneath my bed. I would have to give it to him tomorrow. I was actually kind of excited. I couldn’t wait to see how he would react to my gift. Hopefully all would be forgiven.

Ren’s POV

I silently cursed at Minhyun and Aron for leaving my brother and I alone with Jason. I really, really didn’t like him. There were very few people that I disliked in this world, but Jason was one of them. Sure, he was friendlier than Baekho was, but at least Baekho was never this awkward and he knew which social barriers not to break. It didn’t help that hyung was clueless either. With every word that escaped Jason’s lips, Minseok found hilarious. I knew he wasn’t this naïve; hyung had always been popular amongst the males and females in his classes growing up. I had always lived in his shadow; whenever a guy liked me, he’d forget all about me once he laid eyes on my brother. Eventually I just gave up and spent all of my time studying and hanging out with JR, who surprisingly never fell for my brother either. I felt kind of relieved about that. JR picked me over my brother. Finally I won.

Minseok turned to me. “I think it’s about time I go visit mom and dad.”

I quickly snapped out of my daze. “Wait!” I placed my hand on his arm as he started to stand up. Minseok froze then sat back down, giving me a questioning look. “Before you go, can you do something for me?”

Minseok paused. “Depends. What is it?”

“Can you teach me how to disable an alarm?” I asked, referring to how he literally bypassed the security alarm back at 2DREAM’s mansion earlier like it was a walk in the park. Minseok found my question amusing and smirked at me.

“Are you part of some secret evil organization preying on the citizens of Seoul?” He asked.

I huffed. “What am I, crazy?”

Minseok laughed. “You’ve always been crazy, but that’s beside the point. Alright, I’ll show you, but if anyone asks you didn’t learn it from me.” He replied then reached for a napkin. He took a pen out from his pocket and began scribbling down on it, writing down various numbers. “You’ll need to practice. I recommend your house first; if you try and fail somewhere else, the cops will show, alright? So this is what you need to do…”

Later that evening while Minhyun and Aron were gone and after Minseok had went to our parents’ house, I found myself alone in the house with Jason. For the most part, he left me alone. He was still going on about my brother, but I tuned him out. Finally he got tired of me ignoring him and he left for his room. Without him by my side, I decided to play around with the security alarm. If Baekho wasn’t going to let me inside of that house, then I’d have to find my own way in. I wasn’t taking no for an answer. He could try to push me out all he wanted, but I made a promise with him. I promised to be his friend, and friends don’t abandon each other. Of course I would try to gain entrance into his house the legal, rightful way. But who was I kidding? Baekho was the type to push others away. I wanted to be prepared for when he refused to answer the door. After all, what were the odds of him calling the police on me? I paused. Actually… it was a 50/50 chance…

I slapped my hand over my face. Dear god, I must have gone crazy. I asked my brother to teach me how to break into other people’s houses. Yes, I’ve gone insane. But in my defense, I blame it on working for DREAM and 2DREAM. I had lost most of my intact senses while working under them and their crazy demands. I glanced down at the folded napkin in my palm. Well, I had already gone through the trouble of asking for Minseok’s help. He had gone through a lot of trouble trying to explain to me the simple act of punching in an overwriting code, but he might as well have been talking to me in French. I didn’t understand a word of it. Needless to say, we were at the restaurant for quite a while until management grew tired of us taking up space and told us to leave.

I slipped on my shoes and exited the house, stopping in front of the dial pad beside the front door on the outside. There were two ways to enter 2DREAM’s house. A code or a key. I had only seen the others ever use a key to get inside. For the most part this was probably the case because no one could seem to remember what the code was. I hesitated before bringing my finger up to the dial pad. I remembered Minseok’s words about if I messed up, the cops would be notified. I took a deep breath. If that were the case, I had a key. I’d just tell security that I was trying to remember the code and I’d be let off the hook, wouldn’t I?

I shakily began to enter the list of numbers Minseok had written down previously on the napkin. As I entered each number, small beeps escaped from underneath the buttons. Please, get this right, please… I punched in the last number. A long period of silence passed by before the small light above the dial pad beeped and flashed green, followed by the sound of the lock unhinging in the door. A large smile swept across my lips and I brought my clenched fists into my chest, jumping with joy.

“Yes! I did it!”

“Did what?” Jason asked on the other side of the door, frightening me. I screamed then placed my palm over my chest to calm my racing heart. I glared at him. Wasn’t he supposed to be doing something in his room? Why was he still bothering me with his presence?

“Nothing. It doesn’t concern you.” I replied then stepped inside. How great was this? I got it on my first try! I stepped past Jason and entered into the doorway, slipping my shoes back off before making my way over to the living room with the annoying red head still on my heels.

“I’m bored~~~!”

I turned to him with a brow raised. “Sorry?”

“Entertain me.”

I laughed, taking offense to his last remark. I placed my hands on my hips. “Look, I don’t know what you heard about me, but I’m 2DREAM’s stylist, not your personal plaything. I take orders from Aron or Minhyun, not you.”

Jason laughed. “Yeah, right! You don’t even listen to them; you’re like the mother in this little family. You boss them around like little children.”

“That’s because they act like little children.”

Jason smirked, finding my comment amusing. “But I’m the oldest one here.”

“And?” I asked. Was there a point to this conversation?

He laughed once again. “Alright; I’ll let you be the mother as long as I get to be the father.” He leaned in close to me. “Then at the end of the night, we can convene as husband and wife.” I stared at him with wide eyes and huffed.

“Wow, you’re such a leach! I thought you were into Aron, then my brother… I’m sorry, but what exactly is your problem?” I asked, wanting to get down to the bottom of his strange behavior. “Are you a home-wrecker? Do you enjoy destroying other people’s relationships, or-”

“I like .” Jason replied rather bluntly.

I turned red. “W-what?” I asked, taken completely off guard.

“What, does that make me a bad person?” He asked innocently. “What’s the big deal? Others like chess or sports. Why can’t I like ?”

I blinked. “Um, because it’s not a game! It’s not like either of those two that you mentioned! is like…” I paused, feeling completely uncomfortable talking about this subject with him. The last time I had was the week before JR had left for America. Since then, whatever urges I had had to be left unsatisfied. Before JR and I had started dating, it was no big deal. I had been too consumed with studying and teaching that as JR had said, I was basically living under a rock. Whatever urges I had were left ignored despite the several dates JR had arranged for me. I never wanted to sleep with any of them because I didn’t want them to become attached to me; I simply didn’t have the time. Besides, at the time I still had my secret feelings towards my best friend.

Jason raised a brow at me, intrigued. “Like what?”

“F-feelings are involved; you can’t just play with people’s emotions like that!” I stammered as Jason reached for a lock of my hair and began twirling it with his fingers. Jason flashed me a seductive look, tilting his head to the side slightly.

“You’ve never had without emotion?”

I was beginning to grow more and more uncomfortable. “W-what, have you?”

Jason smirked. “All of the time,” He replied, leaning in closer. I began to take several small steps backwards until my back hit the wall, leaving me trapped. Jason smiled at this and closed in on me. By now our noses were barely three centimeters apart. I could feel my heart racing in my chest. What was going on here…? Was I… becoming excited by this confrontation with Jason? Oh my god… just how long had it been since JR was gone? No, I couldn’t let this continue. I wasn’t the type to cheat. I was faithful. “Why do you ask? Do you… perhaps… want me to teach you?”

I shook my head hysterically. “N-no-”

Jason placed his finger on my lips. “Shhh… I don’t mind-”

The two of us jumped as the front door loudly swung open, followed by an exhausted looking JB carrying a sleeping Minhyun on his shoulders. I immediately slid out from underneath Jason’s barrier and took off running to my room, thankful for the distraction, closing and locking the door behind me. I sat down on the foot of my bed and stared off into space with wide eyes. What was that? What the hell was that?! My heart… it was still racing. I reached over and opened my drawer beside my bed, pulling out my fan that I usually used during the hot summers and began waving it frantically in front of my face. Calm down, calm down Ren.

I stopped fanning myself then paused briefly before pouting. Oh my god, I really am a slave to my own urges! No… I prided myself so much about being able to control it. I… it was all that guy’s fault! He seduced me! I froze as a thought suddenly occurred to me. What if the situation had been different, and it was Baekho who had tried to seduce me instead of Jason? A small smile started to spread across my lips before I came to my senses and stopped. I placed both hands onto my hot cheeks and frantically began to kick my legs out into the air. Ren, what the hell are you thinking? Baekho?! Are you serious?!

I rolled onto my side on the bed and stared down into the design in my comforter. Why did Baekho’s name suddenly come to mind first before JR’s? JR was the one I was dating. Why hadn’t I imagined JR in Jason’s place instead of Baekho…? These thoughts were troubling. I sat back up and subconsciously touched my lips, thinking back to that day where I had been sleeping out on the porch and had awoken to the sight of Baekho hovering above me. He was definitely about to kiss me, wasn’t he? And with the position I was in, I couldn’t lean back to prevent it. I would have had to accept it, right…? There was no other place to go. That was why I didn’t fight it… right?

I brought my hand down and reached for my phone. These thoughts, I needed to get rid of them. They were troublesome, burdensome. They were threatening to my relationship with JR. I quickly dialed JR’s number, not even caring about the long distance charges that would incur. The phone rang several times, but there was no response. I dejectedly let the phone slide out of my hands and onto the bed. I brought my knees up into my chest and leaned forward, blankly staring across the room. What in the world was going on with me…?

The next morning I joined JB, Aron, Minhyun and Jason in the dining room. As I sat Minhyun jumped up and fixed me a plate, setting it down at the empty spot beside Jason. I paused hesitantly before sitting down next to him, remembering all too well the awkward situation that had happened the previous night. I mentally sobbed in front of the plate. The room was awfully quiet. Aron was too busy flipping through his phone while Minhyun was slowly picking at his own plate. And of course, Jason was smiling at me. God, it’s too early for this… JB glanced up from his iPad and stared at me. He cleared his throat.

“Alright, I’ll mention the elephant in the room; what were the two of you doing last night?” He pointed between Jason and I with chopsticks in hand. Both Aron and Minhyun turned their attention our way. Jason and I both exchanged glances before looking back at JB. “I ask this because as manager, I can’t allow any fooling around underneath this roof. Everyone here has a job to do. Think of this house as an extension of the Pledis office and treat this as a professional workplace as well.”

“F-f-fooling around?!” I was so stunned, I started stuttering. Both Aron and Minhyun wore matching smirks across their faces. Jason leaned forward on his elbows on the table.

“We were just playing a game.” He replied.

JB raised a brow. “Oh really, a game? And what might that be?” I had a mini-panic attack, quickly glancing Jason’s way. Don’t say it, don’t say it…

“S-” , he’s saying it! Think Ren, think!

“-AILOR MOON!”

Wait… what… All five of us froze in silence in the room. Minhyun raised a brow.

“You were playing Sailor Moon?” He tilted his head to the side, confused. A big smirk spread across Jason’s lips as he turned to me.

“I’ll be the Tuxedo Mask to your Sailor Moon any day.” He shot me a wink. I turned away in embarrassment.

Aron folded his arms across his chest as he sat back in his chair. “No fair; why does he get to be Tuxedo Mask?”

Minhyun looked up at the ceiling with stars in his eyes. “I get to be Sailor Venus then.”

“Guys!” I replied, not believing that they were playing along with this absurd idea. I paused. “Wait, why Sailor Venus?”

Minhyun arrogantly held his chin up high. “Because Sailor Venus is the Goddess of Love and Beauty.” He said, primping his hair. JB silently shook his head, probably regretting having asked us. Soon enough the topic of what Jason and I were doing the previous night was long forgotten and our morning breakfast consisted of Jason and Aron arguing over who got to play-pretend to be Tuxedo Mask (Jason won by the way).

After breakfast I assembled Aron and Minhyun’s outfits for the day before grabbing my briefcase and heading out the door for the school. Lessons went by as usual. To my surprise, Kim Suri had finally started to show up for class again. After having missed so many classes, she was undoubtedly far behind. But I was just glad to have her back. Perhaps her mother really did take the time of day to just sit down, listen, and talk to her. Whatever it was she did, it got through to my student, because she was finally back. When the last bell rang, dismissing the students from school, I stayed back in the classroom, having been stopped by JR returning my phone call. I sat down at my desk and stared out of the window at the blue sky, pressing the phone up to my ear.

“JR…” My voice trailed off.

“Sorry for returning your call a day late; they’ve been working us till we drop over here.”

“I’m just… glad you returned it, is all…” I replied.

“Ren?” He asked, sensing the sadness in my voice. “Is something wrong?”

I stupidly shook my head, even knowing that he couldn’t see it. “Not at all.”

“Ren, you’ve never been a good liar. Something’s bothering you, now what is it?”

“Do you ever… regret your decision?” I asked. There was a sudden long pause on JR’s end. I held the phone away from my face and checked it; had he hung up on me, or lost the connection?

“Why are you asking?” He finally asked. His voice sounded terrified.

I nervously laughed. “I just wondered if you ever get lonely… too lonely over there, that’s all.”

“Of course I miss you, and of course I regret leaving you there. But I’m finally achieving my dream. It feels… good. I do get lonely; whenever I do, I just pull out your picture and look at it.”

A smirk spread across my face as a sudden thought struck me. “Is that all you do with my picture?” I asked seductively. JR began to laugh.

“I guess someone’s in the mood!” He joked. “Perhaps… perhaps a bit more than just looking.” JR replied in a y deep voice.

“Oh, is that so? I think I need more of a description.” I couldn’t help it. Last night Jason seemed to reawaken the ual side of me that I had seemed to have long forgotten. I don’t know why, but I felt like I would go crazy if I couldn’t get my fix. But of course, I wanted it to be with my boyfriend.

JR laughed uncomfortably. “Ren, I’m sitting on the train! I can’t do this here!”

“So? I’m at the school.”

“You’re just asking to get fired.”

“Oh, you bore.” I replied in defeat, standing up. I shifted my gaze down into the front courtyard of the school and paused as I noticed something unusual going on down there. A crowd of students wearing the neighboring school’s uniform had made a circle around one of the female students in our uniform. My heart stopped, literally feeling like it had dropped to my stomach. In a matter of seconds the crowd of kids began kicking and throwing rocks at her. I breathed heavily. “J-JR…”

“Huh? What’s wrong?” JR asked, picking up on the panic in my voice.

“I-I’ll call you back, I h-have to go!” I replied then hung up, stuffing my phone into my briefcase while taking off running down the hall. I flew down the flight of stairs and burst through the front doors, running into the courtyard and breaking my way through the mob of the neighboring school’s kids. I leapt to the floor and embraced my student, using my body as a shield as the parade of rocks kept coming. I winced in pain as several of them struck my back. “ENOUGH! STOP!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. The rocks kept coming.

My student tapped my leg and glanced up at me. I stared in horror; Suri? No… she had finally had the courage to come back to class, and then this happens? I wasn’t going to let this continue. She was my student, and she had finally come back to me. I had a responsibility to protect my students from nonsense and discrimination like this!

I stood back up and stomped my foot down. “Stop it!” I exclaimed, glaring at the group of kids. The flood of rocks paused. “Is this what you do when your parents’ backs are turned? Pick on those who are different from you? Since when is being deaf a shameful thing? You and I, we were born with the gift of hearing. A gift; that’s all it is. And from the looks of today, not all of us here are deserving of that gift. There are plenty of children here at this school that are more than deserving of that gift you take for granted; but you know what? Not all gifts are necessary. The gift of sound is not a sensory skill that is ultimately needed for survival, and what’s shameful is you trying to put others down, trying to make them judge their self-worth by making them believe that it is. The students at this school lack the ability to hear, not to feel. What do the students at your school lack? Brains? Hearts? This nonsensical bullying ends today; you apologize to her now, do I make myself clear?”

The leader of the group of kids scoffed. “Why should we listen to you?”

“You do it now, or the police gets involved. Your choice.” I replied, digging my cell phone out from my briefcase. “What will it be?”

The group of kids all exchanged glances before turning their attention back to Suri, who was standing behind me, still shaking. “What’s the use? She’ll never understand us.”

“Instead of making ignorant assumptions, why don’t you try speaking to her yourself? I assure you, she knows Korean just like everyone else.”

The leader of the group looked at me. “Sorry.” She muttered.

I shook my head. “Are you apologizing to me or Suri? Suri’s over here.” I replied, stepping aside. “Is she a sub-class of human? Look at Suri when you are speaking to her.” Yes, Suri couldn’t hear, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t read lips. A simple apology was not at all hard to recognize.

The girl uncomfortably approached Suri. “I’m sorry. We’re all sorry.”

Suri paused for a moment before hesitantly lifting her hands and beginning to sign. The girl glanced at me, not able to understand what it was Suri was saying. I pointed back at Suri. “She’s speaking to you; look at her, not me.” I scolded her. This was one of the things that drove me crazy about hearing people; they didn’t even try to decode the message that was trying to be sent out. Looking away from a person who was signing to you was equivalent to looking the opposite way when someone was speaking to you. Eye contact in any form of communication was important, was it not? Signing was no different.

“I don’t know what she’s saying…”

I began to speak out for Suri. “What wrong did I ever commit against you? Have I ever harmed you? Has my deafness ever caused a physical problem for you? Do you believe that my deafness justifies what you did? I might forgive you, but I’ll never forget you.”

“Sorry.”

“Get out of here.” I replied. The group of kids didn’t hesitate to take off running back to the neighboring school. Once they were gone Suri turned to me and began to sob hysterically. I patted her on the back before pulling away and signing to her. “It’s over now. You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”

“Teacher Choi, thank you, thank you, thank you-” She continued to make the sign for ‘thank you’ repeatedly, expressing her undying gratitude for helping to put an end to the bullying. My only regret was that I hadn’t stopped it sooner…

Minhyun’s POV

After attending an interview with Aron for 2DREAM, the two of us returned back to the mansion. We had a few hours to kill before we would have to make our way back to the studio to start recording. All we wanted to do was rest. To our surprise, the house was actually quiet. Jason was napping in his room, leaving the two of us to relax without any nuisance. I flopped down on the couch and turned the TV on. Aron quietly entered the living room and sat down beside me. I raised a brow and glanced at him but he remained silent, keeping his attention fixed forward. Together the two of us began to watch a drama. Aron suddenly yawned rather loudly, stretching both of his arms out. As he was about to bring them down, I leaned forward and shot up from the couch.

“Do you want some popcorn-” I stopped amidst my question to see Aron collapsed on his side on the couch. I furrowed my brows. “What’s wrong with you?” I asked.

“Nothing!” Aron shot back defensively as he quickly sat back up, folding his arms across his chest and pouting. Okay then… I entered the kitchen and made a bowl of popcorn. I took my seat back down beside him, placing my hand back down on the remote. Out of the corner of my eyes I spotted Aron’s hand slowly inching towards it. I blinked then raised the remote, holding it out to him.

“Do you want to change the channel?”

“Oh forget it!” Aron exclaimed then turned his back to me.

“Aron Kwak, what is your problem?!” I asked, startled.

“I was trying to be romantic!”

I paused before laughing. “You were what?”

“I tried to put my arm around you, but you left. I tried to hold your hand, but you handed me the remote. God, Min, you’re so clueless!”

I began to giggle hysterically. “Well, excuse me for not knowing your version of ‘romantic.’ The Aron Kwak I know isn’t.”

“Yeah, well, maybe there’s a reason for it!” He continued to huff and puff like a spoiled child. I couldn’t help but laugh. I leaned over and rubbed his back.

“Oh, come on, get back over here…”

“No!”

“Aron…” I pouted before pulling away. “What brought this sudden change in you?” I asked, curious. He had never taken the initiative before.

“Well…” He turned back to me. “Ren told me the other day that I was in the wrong and that I needed to make it up to you… He told me that a relationship takes two. I’m… sorry I didn’t notice Jason’s intentions beforehand.” He replied sheepishly.

I smiled. “Remind me to thank Ren.” I replied then snuggled my head onto Aron’s shoulder. The two of us sat comfortably until we were disturbed by the sound of someone knocking outside of our door. I shared a puzzled glance with Aron before getting up to answer it, still holding onto my bowl of popcorn. To my surprise, it was Ren’s older brother. I didn’t hesitate to pull open the door and welcome him inside. Aron immediately shot up when he spotted him, but he remained silent. As Minseok came in, he was looking at something on his phone. I stole a brief glance at it, secretly admiring it. “Wow, that’s a pretty cool phone. It’s so big!”

Minseok suddenly glanced up. “Really?” He asked, handing it out to me. “Want it? I have several more at the office. It’s a Galaxy Note 3, newest on the market.”

My eyes lit up. “Really?! Oh my god, I swear you must be a mind-reader; I totally needed to go out and buy a new one. You saved me the time and effort. Thanks!”

Aron suddenly scoffed before loudly marching his way out of the living room and down the hall, disappearing into his own room. Minseok gave him a strange look before turning his attention back to me. “Right, the reason why I’m here; is Ren home?”

I shook my head. “No, I think he might still be at his school.”

“Of course!” Minseok slapped his hand across his forehead.

“Was it something important you needed to discuss with him?” I asked.

He slid his hand down from his face. “Actually, I probably did something I shouldn’t have yesterday. I taught him how to overwrite a security alarm-”

“You did what? Why?” I blinked. What in the world was Ren up to now?

Minseok sighed. “Come on, you’ve seen that angelic little face of his. It’s hard to tell it ‘no.’ As for why, that’s what I want to know. You have no idea how much sleep I lost over it. Is my little brother a thief? A stalker? What use could he possibly have for such a skill?”

“Sorry I can’t be of much help…”

Minseok waved his hand. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll get going. See you guys later; tell Aron I said ‘bye.’” He replied then left as quickly as he had come. Once he was gone, still holding onto my bowl of popcorn I started making my way towards Aron’s room, only to be stopped as he angrily marched past me.

“I’m going out!” He muttered, pushing past me and then disappearing out the front door. As he shoved me, the popcorn bowl fell from out of my hands, sending pieces flying everywhere into the hallway and the empty bowl rolling into his open room. I angrily sighed; dammit, Aron! You’re such a jerk! One moment you try to be lovey-dovey, and then the next you’re pulling stunts like this! I sighed then entered Aron’s room to collect the bowl that had managed to roll underneath his bed. I stopped by the edge and dropped to my knees, reaching underneath until I felt something. Instead of grabbing the bowl, my hand had caught onto a plastic bag, which I had found strange. Aron was never one for storing and hiding things underneath his bed. What could this possibly be? I pulled out the bag from underneath the bed and removed a small cardboard box. Inside was a Galaxy s4. I froze. What was Aron doing with this underneath his bed? He already had a phone, unless…

Was this… for me?

I opened the box up and turned the phone on. When it finally powered on, the first thing I spotted was Aron making a cute heart shape with his hands and his usual stoic expression written on his face. I chuckled, placing my left hand over my mouth. I was touched. Aron, you went out and bought a replacement for me? I smiled. Aron, you big dummy. You really do care about me, don’t you? I glanced down at the bigger, better model that Minseok had just given me then back at the one Aron had picked out for me. Suddenly the sound of Aron’s heavy footsteps returning down the hall and back into the room startled me.

“I forgot my hat-” Aron paused as he spotted me sitting on the ground in the middle of a sea of spilled popcorn, playing with the phone he had picked out for me. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” He practically screamed, embarrassed.

I glanced up at him before slowly standing. “I think I like this one better; this is mine, right?” I asked, walking past him and stopping in the door frame.

Aron shyly nodded. “Y-yeah, but…”

I spun around and kissed him on the back of his neck. “Thank you, I love it.” I whispered to him.

“B-but… it’s only the s4. The one he gave you is bigger.”

I chuckled. “Aron, since when has size ever mattered to me?” I asked, looking down on him.

“W-what are you implying?!” Aron stammered.

“How’s the weather down there?” I teased.

“Cold and bitter, like your soul.” As Aron said this I leaned forward and kissed him. He returned the kiss before I parted away from him and laughed.

“Thank you, Aron. It means a lot to me because it came from you.” I replied, dangling the phone in front of him.

“Really? But…”

“But what?”

“I thought you liked Minseok… besides, the phone he gave you is much cooler.”

I grabbed him by both sides of his face, finding his jealously adorable. “Dork; don’t misread me. I like you. Minseok’s cool, but he isn’t you.”

Aron waved his hands in the air, fanning his face like he had just won the title of Miss Korea. “I’m going to cry.”

“You’re such a troll!” I snapped.

Aron laughed. “Yeah, but your troll.”

Ren’s POV

After the incident at school, instead of heading back home to 2DREAM’s mansion, I found myself drifting over towards Baekho’s neighborhood. With each step I took, several doubts struck my mind. Yes, I had one small victory today, but that didn’t guarantee another one. Maybe I was getting too cocky. Even though I knew that there was a chance that I wouldn’t make any progress, I still felt the need to try. If I had to, I would drop by his house every day until he finally let me in. That, or I’d force my way in, risking a possibly jail sentence. It didn’t matter; I wanted for Baekho to know that he still had people who cared for him. About after an hour of aimless walking, I finally found myself in front of Baekho’s house. Once again the gate was left wide open. I stepped inside and paused at the front door, hesitating before knocking several times. Of course, no response. Just like last time.

I pulled out my cell and called Baekho’s phone. No response. I texted him. No reply. I knocked several more times to the point where even I felt myself becoming annoying. Still, nothing. I bit my bottom lip as I glanced over at the dial pad on the wall beside the door. Should I try it? I paused; wait, what if the reason why Baekho wasn’t answering or responding to any of my knocks or messages was because he was injured? My heart began to race. If that was the case, it would be wrong not to enter. I quickly tapped the code that hyung had given to me the other day then waited. A couple of seconds went by before the light flashed green and the door unhinged, popping open. I slowly took the handle and pulled the door open, cautiously poking my head inside before finally gathering the courage to enter.

As I entered, my eyes went wide. I felt a bit like Alice, stepping into Wonderland. The house was enormous and filled with all sorts of expensive decorative pieces. I tried not to stare at any of them, worrying that if I did I might risk breaking something and have to spend the rest of my life working for his parents. I placed both hands by the sides of my mouth and shouted.

“Kang Baekho! It’s me, Ren! Where are you?!” I called out to him. No response. I began making my way up the stairs, checking each room, feeling like a total intruder. Well, that’s what I was, wasn’t I? I came across a room that had completely been destroyed. I observed it in horror; this must be Baekho’s room. In the middle of the room laid several piles of broken glass and torn paper that he must have sorted out, trying to organize the mess he had created. Yes, this was definitely Baekho’s room. But if that was the case, where was he? I noticed his phone flashing on top of his desk in the corner; it had several missed calls, mostly from me. I felt my heart begin to race. Baekho, where are you?

“Baekho! Are you in here?! Answer me, dammit!” I screamed, running back down the stairs. I suddenly paused when I heard the sound of several bottles crashing to the floor, coming from underneath the house. I ran back into the lobby and noticed a door that I had missed earlier. I stepped through it and climbed down a flight of stairs, discovering an elaborate wine cellar. Sitting in the corner sat a shirtless, distraught looking blonde. “Why didn’t you answer me when I called for you, you big idiot?!” I said, still climbing down the staircase.

I paused when Baekho slowly started lifting himself up from off the floor, still looking forward and ignoring me. I narrowed my eyes; really? He was going to continue to play this childish game of giving me the cold shoulder?

“Kang Baekho!” I snapped.

Baekho walked over towards the broken shards of a bottle in the opposite corner of the room. I watched him in silence as he began to slowly gather the pieces into a pile. I furrowed my brows; something was… off about his behavior. His motions, his behavior when being spoken towards… I had seen this before… but where had I seen it? My eyes went wide as I came to a sudden realization: I had seen this type of behavior in my students. My bottom lip trembled.

“K-k-kang Baekho…. Can you hear me?”

Baekho continued to place the broken shards of glass into a pile, moving on as if I had never spoken a single word to him. No… this couldn’t be… this simply couldn’t be… Baekho… A wave of numbness swept over me. I placed my hands over my mouth in horror, my briefcase that I had been holding in my arms sliding out from under me and hitting the staircase, tumbling down each stair until it landed with a big THUD on the cellar floor. Baekho suddenly paused as he must have sensed the vibration on the floor. This was often a method that my students, as well as other deaf people, used daily in order to ‘hear.’ Instead of ‘listening’ to sound or music, they listened for the vibration that each noise made. I felt my knees go weak as I noticed this signal in Baekho. He slowly turned his head and glanced back at me with terrified eyes. He immediately drew his hands over his ears, going into panic mode.

“Get out of here, get out of here!” He screamed.

“Baekho, I-”

“Dammit, get out of here!!!”

I shook my head, staring at him with tear filled eyes. “No, Baekho, I can’t-”

“I’m not going to listen to you; I won’t! GET OUT!” He turned his back to me in shame.

I finished marching down the stairs and approached him. I placed both hands over his which were still on his ears, grabbing him by his face and forcing him to look at me. He completely wreaked of alcohol. He roughly threw my hands off of his, sending me flying backwards a couple of steps. I narrowed my eyes and marched right back to him, tightly latching my arms around his waist. Baekho stubbornly fought me, trying to shake me off of him. But it was no use. I refused to let go. My hug seemed to succeed in calming him down. Finally, as if giving in, he stopped fighting me. As I leant my head across his chest, I felt his heartbeat racing. I pulled away from him and grabbed a hold of his face once again before slowly mouthing my words to him.

“I… can… hear… it.”

Baekho stared down at my lips in confusion, as if trying to read them. He slowly glanced back up at me. “…Hear what?” He asked rather hesitantly as he glanced away. My heart leapt inside of my chest. Baekho had understood me in my attempt to communicate with him. I turned his head forward to get him to look at me again.

“The… sound… of… your… heart.” I replied slowly, watching for that look of recognition and understanding in his eyes. When it finally came, I pulled his head into my chest and positioned his left ear above my heart, letting him rest there to feel the vibrations for a couple of seconds before pulling him back up. “Can… you… hear… mine?” Baekho stared at me with wide eyes before two wet tears trickled down his cheeks. His body began to shake with sobs.

“I heard it…”