“So… where did they say they were?” He asked, casually leaning against the wall where the two waited outside by the restaurant, an alleyway, actually and the two were actually being nice to one another. Maybe it was because they had a connection, maybe it’s because of the truce, maybe it’s because of something else but maybe it’s also because of the fact that they’ve gotten a lot of weird stares all the time; either she was too violent, he was too snarky and altogether it was an unpleasant sight—so none of that when they were in public.

“I don’t know,” She breathed, putting her hands in her pockets before she turned to look at him, realizing that he could be doing something else at this hour: be it with Lay or his other friends but instead he’s here, with her, “Sorry for dragging you out, my sister insisted,”

“I agreed, remember?” He snorted, using his arm to bump against hers and from the gesture, she was reminded of when...

“You know, there’s a reason why every single person has their personal space,” She grumbled, feeling there was no gap between them especially when he was ridiculously close to her despite already being right beside her. He snorted and pressed his arm harder against her, grinning widely as the two waited underneath an umbrella as the two waited for the rain to pass before they would head to the bus stop, “You see, I don’t want you to get wet, Hee Young-ah,”

“But we’re already so close!” She huffed, trying to shove Minseok away but he only gripped around her tighter by putting an arm around her, that grin on his face that made him look ridiculous but she can’t deny the fact that he was being ‘cute’ as of now, “Now now, don’t try to get me wet,”

“I’ll freaking drench you—“

“With what, exactly?”

She rolled her eyes and exhaled deeply, trying to calm herself down and she could just feel him still having that smirk on his face that she muttered under her breath, you wait until we get back.

“Hee Young…”

Her eyes blinked once, twice and then she snapped her head to where the source of voice was coming from, meeting with a pair of… worried eyes?

“What?” Almost inaudible.

“I called you three times,” Practically uneasy.

“Oh…” Filled with apology and a bit of vulnerability, “S-Sorry…”

He saw that look in her face when she looked away, a tinge of sadness, a pinch of regret and guilt—yet she tried to mask it all underneath this temporary happiness. It wasn’t easy to catch that from a girl like her but he had a strange vibe, something that reckoned him to say, you really miss him, don’t you?

He couldn’t tell if it was a smirk or a smile but her lips did twitch up before she lowered her head lower than before, as if she wanted to pierce the ground with her eyes, I hate to admit it but… yeah, she then peeked at him with the corner of her eyes, seeing that all he did was return to her with an understanding smile, one that assured her to finish her sentence with, I really miss him…

I bet he’s fine, he reached over to give her a pat on the shoulder.

She scoffed a laugh and then muttered a soft thanks before continuing, he better be.

Noticing that change of tone in her voice, somewhat monotonous, he had tried to change the topic.

“So… how’s things with you and… your…”

“If that’s your way of changing the topic, you’re doing a terrible job,” She saw through his plans, as if she could read his thoughts and have them displayed up in a projector—yeah, that’s how he feels whenever he’s with her, as if she’s known him long enough to read through his actions, words, everything—as scary as that was, he found it fascinating because ever since his sister’s passing… Hee Young’s the only one that could make him feel this way. Even with his sister, he could tell they had some sort of mind connection but with her, it’s like none of that existed because it was not necessary. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, he’s yet to figure that out.

With the corner of her eyes once more, she took a quick glance at him to see that his hand was still on her shoulder, looser this time as he was lost in his thoughts, unable to find a way out but what made her wonder was why was his eyes on her as if she had the answers to all the questions locked in his mind? She couldn’t help but just say you’re staring at me, why?

I don’t know… the words were muttered under his breath almost too quickly, his hand falling to his side once more but his eyes still remained on her—unable to move, unable to glance elsewhere until he snapped out of it when she cleared , sounding her discomfort.

“S-Sorry,” He mumbled, feeling bad for actually staring when inside, he wasn’t feeling that at all.

“It’s fine,”

“Hee Young?”

“What?”

“Isn’t that your… mom?”

With the mention of that last word, she felt her lips parting before she gave Kai a full look on the face, “What?”

“Up ahead, two o’ clock,”

And with the directions she received, her head shifted until it was the right way, a clear view of her mother talking to a person—taller than her mother, shorter than the principal but it seems like it wasn’t just her mother.

She swallowed and Kai felt her body tensing beside her as he too, continued staring at the person her mother was conversing with but at the same time, it didn’t click in him because it’s just a regular person… right?

“What’s wrong?” He finally found the guts to ask, seeing that the person her mother was conversing with was surprisingly handsome—tall, somewhat sharp features but not that sharp along with a nice figure—

“That’s… James,” Her voice, petrified.

“And who is James…?” His voice, questioning.

“My…” She paused, “Sister’s boyfriend,”

Kai, usually being the smart and quick one was rather… slow? At this point, he didn’t seem to understand what was happening until he felt himself being dragged by the wrist and his yelp was muted when the two stepped out from the alleyway, walking across the streets and then only he had realized that her hand was latched to his wrist, swiftly crossing the road and dodging the coming cars until the two were safely across. Only then he found his voice, and then only his eyes met hers, “Before you violently drag me like that as if I’m some kind of doll, would you please inform me?”

“Sorry,” She smirked, but she wasn’t sorry for it as the two now hid behind the wall of another alleyway, just merely steps away from where James and her mother were conversing at—really, they should sit down in a coffee shop or something… or something…

“Eavesdropping? Wow,” Kai breathed into her hear as the two had their backs pressed against the wall and she had already let go of his hand with another rolling of her eyes, “Shut up, will you?”

For once, he listened, sealing his lips up because he knew just how much Hee Min meant to her—the look in her eyes each time she saw her sister, the way her world lights up with just a call from her family member and each time Hee Young tries to argue with her sister only proves that she’s striving to protect them both—it was really admirable. Yet, he found himself jealous and he wasn’t sure why.

“So… how’s things between you two?” Her mother.

“Well… she’s really stressed nowadays and... I’m worried.”

“You’ve yet to thank me for hiring you in the first place,” Oh god, her mother should not try to tease others…

“Yeah… I’m really thankful but you do realize that I’m staying because I love her, right?”

And the words on after were blurred because she couldn’t bear to listen anymore—so… James was set up by her mother to look after Hee Min? Was that how James and Hee Min met? Was that the reason why whenever Hee Young tries to ask of the real origin of their love story, because she didn’t buy all the coffee accident bull, her sister would try to brush it off though it’s been more than twelve months?

Apparently, she was too into her thoughts that she hadn’t realize what was going on until her eyes were wide open, staring at Kai dead in the eye who seemingly held her close by turning her body until she was in his warmth of his arms, tightly banded around her with his face resting in the space between her neck and her shoulder. She held in a breath, but soon breathed out by his ear, from the sudden closeness between the two, her voice seeping into his ears cautiously, “What are you doing?”

His reply was calm but believe him, inside was exploding, “They passed by here…”

“What about now?” She asked, slightly thankful for him being quick to block their faces with a smart move of making them appear as a couple in the dark but then again, she wasn’t because of the rapid feeling building up within her—she hated this feeling at the same time, she grew attached to the nostalgic apprehension for such gestures of affection, though, it may seem like nothing.

“T-They’re gone,” He murmured softly against her skin, before he pulled away after much reluctance and she swallowed hard before patting her shoulder where his face was and he straightened his back, peeling his fingers away from her waist, “T-Thanks,” She breathed, finding a way to breathe properly and surprise, surprise that’s not a surprise, he was doing the same, “I-It’s nothing.”

Then it became somewhat awkward, with the slight tension lingering in the crisp of the night but she was the first to break off the whole silence with the clearing of —thank God for that, he thought, if not, he wonders how he would even try to  save this situation. “I think we should get going.”

“Y-Yeah, let’s,” He breathed out, following closely behind her at first but then he allowed her to take one step further ahead to create a gap before the two went into the restaurant—a moment ago was empty but now it was half-packed, they could only imagine how popular this restaurant is and how rowdy the atmosphere would shift to late into the night.

 

 

 

---

 

 

The brief meet and greet was great—they had a good table, somewhere in a private room and the table was actually for six but today, there were only four present—Hee Young has a hunch of what’s about to happen but she tried to stuff it down with the food on her plate. There were small chats, catching up with one another, James conversing with Kai as the two talked to one another about sports, something about the upcoming football match and James wonders if Kai ever played football. Then of course in between the conversation of Hee Young and Hee Min, talking to one another about how’s Minseok doing in the states and Hee Young replied something that came across caring and hating Minseok for leaving, she had to interrupt by saying Kai couldn’t even kick a ball if his life depended on it. The atmosphere was light and cheerful, something similar to a light pastel color to describe the feeling—not something dark, nor too bright; just pastel. However, when silence fell between everything and through the cracks of it, Hee Young turned to Kai and asked nicely, “Say… could you get me a napkin?”

Kai nearly dropped his fork—firstly, at her tone, secondly at her question.

“A… napkin?”

All Hee Young did was press her lips in a thin line and Kai saw that look in her eyes that just needed him to get away for a moment. Understanding her silent request, he nodded and got up, “Five minutes,” He breathed for her ears only, and then he was out of the door.

“W-Where is he going?” James asked, somewhat unsure, somewhat curious and somewhat nervous.

Hee Young let out a sigh before putting her eating utensils down, “Spill it, you two,”

Hee Min cleared , almost choking on the piece of meat and James was there to rub her back affectionately, the look in his eyes assured Hee Young that indeed, he does love her but she wants to hear the truth from her sister herself. She didn’t want to find out from her mother and James talking on the streets—she wanted to hear the words right out of her sister’s mouth.

“W-What do you mean?” Hee Min croaked, voice slightly hoarse from the quiet coughs but that crack definitely showed that she wasn’t dense.

“You two didn’t coincidentally meet in a coffee shop,” Hee Young started, staring at James and then back to her sister, “So before I fill it up myself… I’d rather you two explain to me because that’s how things should’ve been clear to me months ago.”

When Hee Min exhaled as if she was holding it in for hours, Hee Young knew that she had caught her sister from within and not just making up the assumptions in her mind. Hee Young remained a straight posture, arms slightly pressed onto the table but not too hard as her sister took a glance to the man beside her, who delicately placed an arm around her waist and his voice was soft, it’s your call…

Hee Min raised her head up to look at her sister in the eye, at least, if she were to tell her now, she would tell her with eye contact, “Mom… had hired him and also got him hired at my work place to find out what’s going on between you and me,”

With that constant blank look on Hee Young’s face, Hee Min went on as her hands were clasping together tight on her lap—for someone a few years older than Hee Young, she still felt the anxiety biting her down.

“And at first… I was skeptical about him and all but then he came clean with everything after our second date, saying that it’s true that he was indeed hired by mom but…”

“I really do love her,” James helped in, sincerity dripping from each word and as much as Hee Young hates to admit it—it’s true. The way James looks at her as if she means the world to him, the way he comforts her on her darkest and hardest of days—she was thankful that Hee Min had someone there by her side because Hee Young couldn’t and even though they met through their mother, the reason why he’s staying by her side made the bad feelings fade away.

“So ever since… I guess…”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Hee Young cut in between, not going into far detail of the love story but rather the trust between the two had, “You promised me no secrets… what was this, then?”

That’s when Hee Min felt another kick in her gut as she meekly mumbled, “I… I was—“

“She didn’t want you to feel betrayed,” James helped but surprise, not a surprise again, he wasn’t helping.

“H-Hee Young, I—“

“I don’t feel betrayed,” The youngest spoke, finding it harder to speak because it was true—she doesn’t feel betrayed but she was happy for her sister to tell her the truth after a long time, she was ecstatic, even, that her sister could find a partner that she could call her own—what she felt inside, deep within, was not betrayal. “It’s disappointment,” Hee Young breathed out, shaking her head as she couldn’t look at her sister nor James, “I was left in the dark for so long and what if I hadn’t find out on my own? How much longer would you wait for all of this to fester?”

And once more, the room had fell silent, until the door creaked open with Kai popping his head past the door, “Hee…”

“You two have a good night,” Hee Young spoke, standing up from her seat and before Hee Min could hold her back, James didn’t allow that when her younger sister walked out of the door with Kai bidding his goodbye before hurriedly going after the girl that stormed past him. Hee Min closed her eyes out of frustration—with herself before she allowed James to hold onto her. He soothingly rubbed her arms, keeping her near as he listened to her say, “I’m a horrible sister…”

James shook his head and frowned, “No you’re not,”

“I should’ve told her from the start,” Hee Min breathed, turning her face to see the look in James’ eyes and it didn’t look pleased with the words coming out of . James, being rational had held onto her and gently led her head to his shoulder where she inhaled his scent, calming herself down, “You need to give her time to digest all of this new information first… when it’s time, then you should go see her again...”

Feeling the need to say this, Hee Min craned her neck up to see James looking down on her, “Are you sure my mom hired you?”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re the smart one, figure it out.”

 

 

 

---

 

 

“What happened in there?” Kai asked, demanded actually, as he held onto her wrist before she could swing her leg over her motorcycle and he didn’t like the look on her face—so pained, so hurt—he didn’t like that one bit.

“We’re leaving,” She deadpanned, trying to get her hand back from his grip but he only held onto her tighter, tugging her back until her back touched his chest, “I won’t ask again…”

She spared him a glance, a glare and then she said, “Good, I don’t want you to ask again,”

He let go of her hand out of frustration, his voice sinking deeper with that emotion, “Why can’t you just tell me?” He snapped, hastily holding onto the helmet she shoved into his hands and with her back facing him, she didn’t particularly know how she feels at the moment. Sure, she was happy for her sister but was it wrong to feel disappointed? Was it wrong to feel wronged?  She almost felt bad for taking her anger out of someone innocent and at this point, yeah, Kai was innocent.

“Just…” She breathed out unsurely, using her hands to direct him to the motorcycle, “Get on first, alright?”

She got on first, the helmet following after and for a moment, she thought that Kai would’ve hand her back the helmet and walk back home but after much thought, she felt the her motorcycle dipping down a bit as another weight was behind her, joining her and that’s when she revved up the engine because she rides like no one’s business when she’s lost—she rides to wherever her heart wishes and she doesn’t give a damn to where she goes.

“Where do you plan on going?” He asked, already secured his helmet on and then she felt his arms snaking around her waist casually, chin resting on her shoulder and from this tense, trembling body, she surprisingly relaxed against him when he shifted nearer, feeling her nerves slowly calm down as she gripped onto the handlebar, helmet on and she could’ve easily taken off to where she wanted to but that was if she was alone.

“I don’t know, but I’m bringing you back—“

“I’m coming along,” He cut her off, not even thinking twice as his grip locked harder against her waist.

He lifted his chin to lean back so he could meet with her gaze when her head glanced over her shoulder, “I don’t even know where I’m going to go. I could get the both of us lost for all—“

“I don’t care,” He shook his head, his tone straight and confident even though there was this part of him within that actually asked what if the two got lost but it didn’t matter, not now, not ever.

After much thought about it, and suit yourself, she faced forward and kicked it up a notch before the screeching of the tires could be heard as they grazed harshly on the tar roads and then she was taking off at the speed of light. From all the traffic lights, city view and the sidewalk with people walking it sped up faster and faster until Kai thought he was about to see the stars. So this is why she loves to ride.

The wind brushed upon their skin cold enough to form goosebumps and Kai doesn’t know if it’s because of this, if it’s because of the scenery that flashes before his eyes or of it’s because only now he realizes the position he was in. His legs tightly against hers and he could feel her waist right by his arms with just the slightest movement that she didn’t seem to mind, either, at least… she wasn’t showing it, to be exact. She was taking her mind off things by riding through her feelings, she hated seeing all the city, seeing all the buildings made her remind of the feeling once more, the feeling of being trapped—she hated it. She wanted to escape it all and that’s when she sped up faster than before, muting all the honking, all the small chatters, all the sounds of the engines of other vehicles—she was desperate for an escape.

Alone but… it wasn’t until his voice spoke gently into her ear, unfazed by the three speed limits she broke, are you trying to drive us to our death?

With a small smirk forming on her lips, something that reminded her that yeah, there was someone with her that she took the initiative to slow down once they were literally out from the city, already past the bridge and on the way to somewhere her mind directed her to without her realizing, I thought you don’t care?

He felt that familiar smile creeping onto his face as he shifted behind her, but still so close as he pressed his chest fully to her back, I don’t… but it would be such a shame to die now.

Well we won’t, she breathed, bit by bit, she slowed down even more and even more and even more until she stopped and kicked the stand even with Kai’s foot in the way but she managed to do it—years of practicing with Minseok on the motorcycle—at least it had some pros to bringing him around.

“We’re here,” She muttered under her breath, being the first to get off the motorcycle and then removing her helmet to set it on the seat. Kai remained seated with his helmet still intact, eyes looking around the surroundings as he had frozen in time because he felt like he shouldn’t move or all of this image would disappear. She snorted and had already got down to the ground, lying on the grass, “You know, the view would be better if you took off the helmet,”

Like a switch, or rather, after her slight cockiness, he removed the helmet and got off the motorcycle, placing the helmet down beside hers before he got down to relax beside her, feeling that the atmosphere here was enough to erase any worries away. He could legitimately empty his mind here as he lied back on the softness, sinking into nature but then there was this question, so… what happened back there?

There was a heavy exhale, something that crossed between having a heavy mind and full of thoughts. He carefully turned his head to the side with both arms folded at the back of his head before he looked at her breathe softly, disappointment… just… disappointment.

Did you two argue?

…no.

Did you two sort of… have a misunderstanding?

…yeah.

For how long?

I...I was left in the dark about something for a year now.

That’s harsh…

She let out a scoff that sounded like a laugh before she turned to face him, yeah, tell me about it.

You know, he spoke, his eyes focused on hers when she can’t seem to look away, she’s still your sister—and you two are—

Still sisters no matter what, I know, she agreed, sensing that tone in his voice because he used to have a sister he could call his own, he used to have someone he could joke around with, he used to have someone who would call him daily to check on how he’s doing, asking him if he was fine, asking him if he had eaten yet, asking him if he was failing any classes because like hell he would tell his parents if not her… he used to have someone that was much like Hee Min, giving an older sister kind of vibe that was not only happy to him but could also break his heart because he used to have that every day but now he doesn’t.

I’m not going to stay mad at her for long… I can’t do that.

You know, if she was hiding this from you for this long, whatever she’s hiding… she must be caring a lot for you to think about your feelings until this extend.

Instead of giving a proper response, she replied with a question, you should take up psychology or something…

Or something, he snorted, I’m in dancing, remember?

She broke the eye contact with the rolling of her eyes, turning her head elsewhere, you’re ridiculous…

He had an idea in his mind—because how the did he not think of this earlier—before he shot up from the ground, taking his phone out as well, “Speaking of dancing,” He got onto his feet, unlocking his phone and then entering his music gallery. She sighed and closed her eyes for a brief moment before opening them widely when he suddenly yanked her up, “Dude! What the hell?”

“Let’s practice here,” He suggested, his eyes literally sparkling up and it wasn’t because of the stars—it’s because of his own eyes that were brighter than the stars.

“What?” Her head bobbed forward, her arms crossing in front of her chest without her noticing it before she gave him a look, “Out here?”

“There’s no one here, anyway,” He grinned, placing his phone down to the ground with the familiar music coming up, that piano intro that sounded so melodious and peaceful as it played through the night, dissolving into thin air as he extended his arms out and his palms were facing up with his fingers curling towards her for the silent invitation.

She couldn’t deny it, nor the urge to turn away that she placed her hands in his, allowing him to reel her into the dance and forget about everything else that had ever existed besides him and the music playing.

With every turn, every twirl, every step together it’s like two missing pieces to the big puzzle of the huge picture that they would paint on stage with their body movement. With every slide and glide of their bodies against one another created a spark that could ignite the night—with every heartbeat that beat within her gave her the strength to carry things on as if nothing else could ever destroy or break the glass of perfection the two had created—this feeling was perfect… this was everything. This was what she needed.

So when the music finally died down along with all movements, halted as the atmosphere got quiet, only the sounds of them breathing could be heard as he remained behind her and she faced forward, ahead of the scenery but her mind elsewhere when she wanted to turn around but she didn’t need to when he walked around her and now, standing in front of her, face to face, eyes on each other and nothing was said.

The two couldn’t take their eyes off one another, as if something was forcing them to keep that stare for as long as it could take just to keep the connection alive.

It only lasted for a few more seconds before his voice echoed into her ears, “That was amazing,”

She got to exhale calmly first, before her reply came, “Yeah… it was,”

All that there was left were seconds that ticked by as if nothing else mattered, seconds that had left because the two couldn’t seem to snap out of things, minutes of the both unable to look away because it feels like they’ll be missing out on something important if there was anything important to begin with as their feet remained on the ground, glued and stuck, eyes doing the same to one another’s.

She was the first to call it quits because she can’t keep staring into his eyes anymore and she didn’t want to do it because she knows what it can do to her heart that she stepped back and cleared , bringing the latter to do the same, rubbing the back of his neck all of a sudden as he blinked away, “I-I think we should get back now,”

“Y-Yeah,” He agreed, but inside… no, we shouldn’t, “We should,” Why can’t we stay here?

“Let’s go… then,” Her voice was very soft, but he could hear them echoing into his ears, shaking his heart, “Okay.”

But deep within?

I want to stay...here, he watched as she got onto the motorcycle, with you.

 

 

 

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