I groaned silently to myself as I pulled into my driveway, seeing that the lights in my house were already . I didn't even have to wonder who it was; it was clearly Jongdae and I readied my fists as I stepped inside.

"Jongdae, come out-" I started to say as I walked into the living room, but instead of the familiar face I was already so used to, I saw my mother and Sehun sitting on the couch. Flustered, I put away my fist and cleared my throat in embarrassment. "Hello. I didn't realize that you guys were coming today."

"I did tell you we were coming in a few days, a few days ago," Sehun retorted and I wanted to slap his head.

"Yeah, but it would've been nice for me to know when," I emphasized. "But it's fine, at least I didn't keep you guys waiting."

"Oh, you did, but that's okay," my mother suddenly smirked at me. "So... you were expecting Jongdae huh?"

My face immediately grew hotter and she gave me a casual wink, mostly just to tease me.

"I was not!" I adamantly mumbled. "He just bothers me all the time and always comes unannounced and I thought he came today because a certain mom gave him the keys to my house!"

"I was just doing you a favor and I'm guessing it's going really well now," she chuckled.

"I can't wait to meet him," Sehun snickered and I was close to smacking him in the back of the head.

"You're not going to-"

Before I could finish my sentence, I heard a loud whine behind me and I didn't even have to turn around to know who it was. The whine was recognizable from a mile away.

"Hey! You didn't tell me your family was coming over today!"

I wheeled around to face Jongdae and retorted, "I didn't even know they were coming today!"

"Ah, I see," he nodded, rubbing his chin understandingly. "I can see where Hayoung gets her spontaneity from then."

"You're most welcome," my mom teased and I wanted to scream. Why did things have to end up like this? I was definitely not expecting such a whirlwind of events.

"Will you be staying over?" Sehun asked Jongdae, who only grinned back coyly.

"Should I stay over?"

"Yes!"

It was my mom that had enthusiastically agreed to it, but I objected. "No way! Don't you have your own home to go to?"

"But your mom is asking for me to stay," Jongdae pointed out and I groaned loudly.

"Well... I don't have enough rooms in the house for that." I pointed out, and my mom just chortled.

"Honey, you and Jongdae can room together just fine!"

"You're awfully carefree for a mom, aren't you?" I muttered, giving her a slight glare.

"You're awfully single for a 26 year old, aren't you?" She fired back.

"I can get a boyfriend just fine," I muttered, and she scoffed.

"Yeah, right here!" My mom pointed to Jongdae and he just smiled breezily, acting as if everything was just fine.

It was getting late though, and my mom was the most stubborn person I had ever met before. It would be impossible to convince her otherwise and I merely sighed.

"Fine... I guess he stays."

"Hurray! I need to see what kind of person you are," Sehun said to the older male. "I need to see what kind of weirdo would like my sister!"

"Hey!"

Sehun was already scampering off with Jongdae's arm in his hand, and in the next moment, I heard a door being slammed. While I was taking in what had just happened, my mother merely chuckled and patted the seat next to her, signaling that I should sit down. Reluctantly, I did so, and braced what she was going to say next, but her soft, earnest tone surprised me.

"So how do you really feel about Jongdae?"

I was flustered.

"W-well... I don't know," I mumbled, unsure of what to say. "He's cool, I'm just confused on my feelings. I'm not even sure why he likes me either."

"I see... Well, a good thing about him is that he's very straightforward. I'm sure you know plenty of reasons why he likes you, but you're probably in denial," my mom said coolly and I leaned back in thought.

Rubbing my aching temples, a sigh easily left my mouth. "Yeah, but... I don't know. I just feel uneasy."

"Hm," my mom nodded understandingly. "I get it. Just don't take too long to decide, or else you'll be left behind."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked warily.

"I'm just saying, things happen. However, your nervousness right now is making me think that you have feelings for him," she teased, pushing my shoulder playfully.

"I do not!"

It was obvious that she didn't believe me as she breezily waved her hand and made her way into the guest room.

That night, I rolled over my bed plenty of times, unable to fall asleep properly. I blamed it on the thoughts that my mother placed in my head because even at one in the morning, I couldn't stop thinking about it at all. What did I even feel towards Jongdae? Sure, he was good company and I do enjoy talking to him at times, but isn't that more friendly than actually having feelings for him?

Tossing around in bed once more, I groaned loudly. I was sure that him and Sehun were having the time of their lives at the moment, as I could hear them shouting at a video game through the wall, but it only made me more uneasy.

Hearing his voice made me want to burrow myself into the covers and never come out, but at the same time, I found his familiar whine soothing. It gave me a sense of comfort, knowing that he was there, and in the depths of my heart, I did appreciate him keeping Sehun company.

"Take that, ugly!"

I didn't even jump at my brother's sudden declaration, but knowing that my public admirer was in the next room from me made me nervous. Every time I heard him groan or whimper loudly, I felt a strange feeling in my chest, as if there was static inside my heart. It was probably because I was uneasy from my earlier conversation, but still, why was I so anxious?

The feeling was foreign to me, as I had never really felt this way towards anyone, but I was also unsure as to what to make of it. It certainly didn't feel like affection or love, since it was way different than how I felt from my other crushes, but it was also a strange emotion that felt like a tidal wave crashing about.

This conflict made me feel even more confused than I already was, but of course, my life had been a roller coaster of confusion lately, so that wasn't a surprise. The only surprise was my actual emotions.

In spite of the raging thoughts in my head, I merely turned over and squeezed my eyes shut, hoping that a wave of sleep would wash over me soon, so that I didn't have to think about anything anymore.