“Minho!”

Shinhye scream Minho’s name while Mrs. Park  give him a hug. Sulli can’t lift up her head to look at the face that stood few metres from her. She froze.

“it is really him. “ Sulli whispered.

“Yah Noona. How can you find yourself a boyfriend? How about me?”

“Stop it Minho. I know that you are not serious, now drop your act.”

“Noona. How could you say that. I’m seriously hurt Noona. Look at my face. Do you want me to cry for you to believe me?”

Minho shows his sad face to Shinhye. Mrs. Park laugh at her nephew.

“Talk about your feeling later okay darling. Now tell me when did you come? I didn’t hear anyone pressing the bell.”

“I see that the main door was opened, I just barge in. Hehehe. Where is ahjussi and Hyung?”

“Your ahjussi is still at work Minho ya. Chun will come back tomorrow.”

“Ahh okay.”

“Do you want to join us Minho? We were having dinner.”

“Kenchana ahjumma. I want to take shower and rest a bit. I can use Hyung’s room right?”

“Deh Minho. Just come down when you feel like eating neh.”

“Alright ahjumma. Noona, you had a lot to explain to me later.”

Shinhye laugh at Minho’s pouting face.

“Deh my baby brother.”

“Aish noona, I’m not a baby.”

“Ara. Rest first Choi Minho ssi.”

Minho smiles and make his way upstairs. Shinhye turn around to go back to the dining room.

“Omo. Mianhe Sulli. I’ve forgotten that you were here. I was too excited to see my cousin.”

“It’s okay unni. No problem. I know how much you miss him. You talk about your cousin all the time.”

“Am i? Hehe. You had finish eating?”

“Deh unni. Let me wash the dishes if you are done too.”

Then Mrs. Park interrupted them.

“Kenchana. Today I will do the dishes. Just sit Sulli dear.”

“Deh mom.”

Shinhye smiles and sit besides Sulli.

“We always hang together before Sulli ya. He is my dearest one.”

Sulli show her sweetest smile at Shinhye. Mrs. Park join them a while later.

“Sulli, I will introduce both of you later neh. He is an adorable boy. You will like him too.”

“Deh Sulli ya. I love him a lot.”

“There you go again dear. The way you said you love him make him misunderstood.”

“Aniya mom. He is just joking.”

“How do you know he is joking? You know one thing Sulli dear, that boy keep following her around since their childhood. He don’t want to befriend with girl younger than him. He always said that they were childish.”

Mrs. Park and Shinhye laugh when they reminisce the moment. Sulli just keep smiling, not wanting them to know her hurting heart.

“When we move away from Busan, he cry a lot. Despite his coldness, he keeps crying and don’t want to let go of Shinhye’s skirt. He said that he want to live with us. He begs continuously to his parent to let him move with us.”

“Deh Sulli. He was ustoppable. Maybe because he doesn’t have any siblings or friends at that time. He feels that he will be lonely. I persuaded him for long time before he agree. “

Mrs. Park smiles and added after Shinhye.

“He agree but he says that he will marry Shinhye when he grows up. He keeps telling that even when we are on phone. He tell that even last year right Shin?”

Sulli feels like she wants to run from there and cry her heart out. Her mind keep telling her that Minho will never love her but her poor heart don’t want to listen.

Both mother and daughter keeps talking about Minho, Shinhye and Minho’s puppy love towards Shinhye. Sulli stood there hearing and smiles once in a while so that they won't suspect anything.

“But I will never love him in romantic way Sulli. I treat him like my baby brother. How can you love your brother in that way right Sulli?”

Sulli just nod. She knows Shinhye did not love Minho like she does, but she does not have any chance to gain his love because she was confident that Minho loves Shinhye. That’s why he never had any relationship with girls from her school before. He was being loyal to Shinhye. The one he loves dearly.

“Urm, unni. I want to go home now. I’ve told ahjussi to fetch me. He will come any moment now.”

“Sulli, why so soon? You can stay a little while right?” Shinhye shows her sad face.

“I have to pack my important things. I’m going to my appa’s house tomorrow right unni.”

“But you said you had pack them.”

“I forget to pack few of Joonie’s things unni.”

Sulli lied after calming herself. She have to stay calm when she lie to Shinhye. She hope that Shinhye didn’t notice it. The only thing she wants to do now is go inside her room and weep silently.

Putting a sad face, Shinhye give Sulli a quick but loving hug and kiss her cheek.

“Ottoke? I’ll be missing you for two weeks Sulli ya.”

Sulli try her best to smile.She will miss Shinhye too. She was a wonderful friend and sister. She wants to spend more time with Shinhye but she doesn’t want to have an encounter with Minho. She can’t stand looking at his face without crying. She needs to go now. Right now.

“And I can’t introduce you to Minho. Aishh this boy, he came all the way here to sleep.”

“Kenchana unni. There will always be next time.”

Smiling, sulli bows to Shinhye.

“Tell mom that I love her. I can’t stay until she is back from airport.”

Mrs. Park is at airport fetching her son who suddenly return a day earlier.

“Deh I will Sulli ya. Take care. Kiss Joonie for me neh.”

“Deh unni. Bye.”

                                                                                              ***

“Noona. What are you doing?”

“Oh, You're awake. I’m watching movie Minho ya. Wae? are you hungry?”

"No noona."

Minho yawn and walks toward the long couch that Shinhye was sitting. He lie down and put his head on Shinhye’s lap.

“Yah, lie down somewhere else will you? Your head is heavy.”

“Aishh noona. You never ask me to go away before. I will only lie down here.”

Minho pretend to be angry. When he saw Shinhye smiling, he chuckle.

“Right, noona, tell me about the hyung?”

“Who?”

Shinhye laugh when she saw Minho pouting.

“Noona.”

“Ahh, Yonghwa? He is fine. What do you want to know about him?”

“Noona, why would I ask you about Yonghwa hyung. I had his number. We always talk to each other. It’s not about him that I want to know.”

“Really? Then who is it?”

Minho rise and stood besides Shinhye. He turn Shinhye’s body to face him. He looks seriously at Shinhye’s smiling face.

“My rival.”

“Omo Minho ya, when did you find yourself a rival?”

Minho shows his irritated face at Shinhye’s playfulness. He turns away from Shinhye sulking. Shinhye laugh and took a seat in front of him. Minho turns away from Shinhye still keeping his  irritated expression.

Shinhye hold Minho’s face with her hand and smiles at him.

“Mianhe Minho ya. I was just joking. His name is Jaejoong. He is a year older than me and he is from my school. He is Yong’s elder cousin who live with him since 3 years ago. He is handsome, caring, understanding and romantic boyfriend of me.”

“Noon….”

Shinhye stops Minho from speaking by closing his mouth with her palm.

“And he is not your rival.And he will never be.”

Minho removes Shinhye’s hand from his mouth.

“Noona, how can you confess about having boyfriend with that smile in front of me? You are so cruel.”

Showing sad expression, Minho put his hand to his chest.

“Here hurts a lot Noona.”

He stands and walk towards the staircase. Shinhye was feeling unsure. She can’t guess if he really hurt or if it was just one of his prank. Seeing Minho’s slumped shoulder, she feels that she really had hurt him.

“Aishh this boy.Minho ya!”

Minho smiles when he heard Shinhye call his name. He stops and pretend to be sad before he turns to Shinhye.

“I will go back the day after Christmas. I will never show my face in front of you again Noona. I’m sorry for misunderstanding your love towards me. I think that you love me the way I love you. But, I was wrong.”

Shinhye feels her heart tighten when she heard Minho’s confession. She understands Minho’s feeling. Sulli always talk about how she will feel if her crush rejected her. Unconciously, Shinhye began to cry. She feels that she had hurt her brother, she musn’t act like she had done before. She had make Minho misunderstood. It was her fault.

She stare at Minho who was keeping his eyes to the floor. She does not noticed that Minho was smiling.

“I’m sorry Minho ya.”

Shinhye speaks after a few minutes. Minho lift his head quickly when he noticed the change in Shinhye’s voice. He was shocked when he sees her crying. He pulls shinhye into a hug and apologise continuously to her.

“Noona, mianhe… mianhe… mianhe... I was just joking. I was only planning to prank you. It didn’t occurs to me that you will cry from this. Noona, sorry. Forgive me neh. I didn’t expect you to be this emotional.”

Minho broke his hug and look at Shinhye still crying face. Shinhye tries to stop crying when she heard Minho’s excuse.

“Pabo. I think I had hurt you. How could you do this to Noona huh?” Shinhye scold Minho in between her sobs.

“Noona, forgive me okay. I’m sorry. I know you will never love me since before. I realised that my love for you is not a romantic love after few years you left. That’s just a childish act.”

Slowly Shinhye begin to smile. Seeing his noona smiling face, Minho wipes away the remaining tears from her cheeks and smiles too. He hugs her again and Shinhye pats his back a little hard.

“Don’t you ever prank me like that again understand.”

Pulls away from their hug, Minho show her a salute sign. They laugh and walks to the living room together.

“I realise this was not love after I met her noona.”

Minho thought and smiles widely.

“I’ll find you in two weeks Sulli ya.”

                                                                                              ***

Little Joonie opens her sister’s room and found Sulli crying. His smile faded. He walks toward his sister and hug her neck slowly. He had seen Sulli cry before, he saw his aunt give her a hug when his sister cry and he did the same.

Sulli was shocked when she feel Joonie’s small hands hugs her. She lift up her head and wipes her tears. She smiles at Joonie. He is small in age, but he knows how to show his love toward his sister. Sulli lift Joonie up and held him in her arms.

“Wae noona cry again?”

“Nothing Joonie ya. Noona just miss appa.”

“Joonie miss appa too.”

“We will see appa tomorrow neh.”

“Deh noona. Don’t cry.”

Joonie’s little hand wipe the remaining tears off his sister’s face. Sulli smiles at her brother actions. Joonie then lean to her neck.

“Right. I have you Joonie ya. Why should I cry for him. I must forget him. He is in love with Shinhye unni.”