Yifan feels something funny in him every time he looks at Sooyeon when she’s walking away from him to get inside the old building, because somewhere in those floors was where she lived, and it’s the kind of sappy, indescribable feeling that’s spiraling in the pit of his stomach. But no matter how hard he tried, he could never really describe it in words.

“Why are you home so early?”

“Why are you even here?” Yifan, despite him missing his sister for a while now, snaps at her without shame. He’s standing at the first step of the grand staircase to trudge up his room, but a familiar voice had kept him rooted to his spot and made him stay there.

He turns around to face his older sister, Wu Yuan, who has dyed her hair blonde in the color like Yifan’s. He thinks she looks terrible in blonde; it contrasted to her rather dark and more exotic skin.

Yuan purses her lips before she leans against the doorframe that leads to the living room. “So, you haven’t heard yet?”

“Heard about what?” Yifan was lying if he’d said his curiosity didn’t spark up when he heard her say those words.

“The stocks of the company have gotten higher by 4 percent, that’s a lot, huh? Dad also got featured in the Chinese newspaper and news yesterday.” Yuan says it all in only less than five seconds and Yifan is a little bit taken aback by the information.

How could she, who hasn’t even been in the house for more than two weeks now, know about that and Yifan, who has lived under the same roof under his father ever since he was born, didn’t have a clue about it?

“You looked surprised.” She suppressed a chuckle as she crosses her arms over her chest. Yifan takes notice of how healthier Yuan seemed too. She had the color of her skin back and she wasn’t pale anymore. She got chubbier too considering the amount of fats that were stored in her arms and legs were now clearly visible. “So, it’s needless to say you don’t know.”

“Jeijei, what-“

“I came by and dropped some flowers to congratulate dad and the company. But even though his hard work has finally paid off, it seems he’s working harder than ever. He’s not home.”

At that, Yifan sighs while he ruffles the side of his hair, making it look even messier and more unkempt. The bag that he had slung over his shoulder ever since he left school now felt heavier like the air and atmosphere around them that seemed to be so thick and tense now that Yuan had brought up the topic.

“He’s home usually by 10 or 11, sometimes even 3 in the morning.” Yifan says, his gaze casted on the ground. “He’s home the whole day during Sundays too.”

Yuan’s lips are in a thin line as she observes her brother from her spot. “And yet, you still haven’t bonded once since we’ve left, hm?”

Yifan finds himself gulping down his own saliva. She was right. His sister was more than accurate in her assumptions.

Not once did they have a good father-son bonding together ever since his mother had left and Yuan had followed. The house would always be quiet and still. Everything would always be cleaner and in place now that Yuan’s gone, who’s a total pig and the opposite of a neat freak. Meals were lonelier and more awkward between Yifan and his father. The food tasted less inviting and appetizing since his mother wasn’t the one cooking anymore.

Everything changed so fast, everything happened so fast.

His father didn’t even have time for Yifan anymore and that day when they enrolled in Cheongdam, Yifan’s father was forced to come since the enrollment had to be done by the student with the parent. Yifan’s mother was out of the country, she was back in China during that time so of course, only Mr. Wu was able to come. Yifan didn’t even think his father would agree to come.

Ever since then though, Yifan has been seeing less of his father. He would often be locked up in his personal office that was at the other side of the house from Yifan’s room was. During two instances, his father had gone out of the country for business meetings. Yifan noticed how hard his father worked now that the ‘distraction’ and ‘burden’ were gone. Now that her mother was gone and that they were divorced.

Now Yifan knows why his father was working so hard in the first place. The stock increase of his beloved company was proof.

Yifan balls up his hands into fists. “He’s been busy, I’ve been busy. We’ve both been too busy to bother with each other.” He walks up the stairs, finding the strength to move his long legs to lead him to his room.

“You’ve been busy? With what? School work? Oh, please.” to his dismay, Yuan follows him closely from behind, her hand on the railing as she talks. “You can ace a test without even studying it. You’re too advance and smart for you age, I still don’t get why dad changed his mind to enroll you back in school.”

Yifan discreetly rolls his eyes at her as he reaches the top of the stairs. “Why don’t you just ask him then.” He says through the form of a low grumble.

But Yuan was oblivious to the annoyed expression her younger brother had. “If only he was here then I would.” She chides him. “So what has my little brother been busy with, hm?”

Yifan only turns around to face Yuan when he’s opened the door to his room. He looks at her with a soul-piercing glare that would make anyone whimper under it. But he forgot, Yuan wasn’t just anyone. She was his sister after all. She was used to him. “Can you just go?”

“Is it-“ Yifan closes the door in her face before she could finish whatever she was going to say to him. Turning his back to it, Yifan places his bag on his desk as well as his school’s blazer and proceeds on ing his white polo shirt.

“Are you seeing a girl, Kris?”

Yifan lets out a frustrated-sounding groan before raking a hand through his hair, messing it up even more. He turns to look at the door, glowering at it and imagining Yuan at the other side. “Can you just leave now, Yuan? If you’re going to keep on bothering me, then-“

“It’s definitely a girl then.”

He rolls his eyes before finally opening the door revealing his sister, which stood only four inches shorter than him, behind it with a sly smile on her fox-like face. “Yuan-jie, can you-“

“What’s her name?”

Yifan looks at her incredulously. How can she jump into conclusions just like that? “What-“

“I’m only playing with you.” She laughs at his expression. The expression he continues to make as he stares at her. “You know, I saw you once. It was on a lovely Wednesday afternoon that I happened to see my younger brother past by my favorite salon in all of Seoul, wearing his school uniform and looking very much like a student. But then, suddenly, I saw someone beside him and I thought to myself-“Yuan places a hand over her chest and gasp dramatically (making Yifan rolls his eyes at her again)”-‘What’s this? My brother is with a girl?!’ You cannot even fathom how controversial it sounded in my head.”

At her last words, Yifan only blinks, not really sure what to say or do to her. He feigns a look of ignorance and of pure confusion, trying to make her say; “Oh, it wasn’t you? My mistake then.”

But Yuan says the total opposite. “I know it was you so don’t even think about denial.  I’m actually rooting for her since I find her and her smile pretty. And I couldn’t believe, she was smiling while she was with my idiot of a brother. Like, wow, seriously? How romantic is Wu Yifan in real life?”

Yifan blows a raspberry, completely lost in his head, thinking about what he should say. Yuan was right, he couldn’t think about denial now that he got caught red-handed. But how could he clear it up for him? That she, Sooyeon, was just a friend?

The girl his sister was referring to definitely was Sooyeon because Yifan didn’t know other girls that had a pretty face and a pretty smile in school. And he’s never gone out of school with any other girl, or with anyone in general, but Jung Sooyeon.

“Yuan, look here, she-“

“What’s her name?”

Yifan comically an eyebrow. “What?”

“What’s her name?” Yuan repeats with a smile. “Is she younger than you? Is she your classmate? Is she smart? What’s she like? What’s does she think of you? What-“

She’s cut off by her younger brother’s exasperated sigh. Yifan knew there was only thing to do now to make her stop asking so many questions. And it was by answering them straight-on. “No, she’s not. Yes she’s my classmate. No, she’s actually brilliant, not smart. She’s kinda like a flower in May. I don’t.. know.” At first he starts off sure with his answers but then at the last question, he ends it with a question-like answer. “I-I don’t know what she thinks of me, I guess.”

Yuan lets out a squeal of delight; surprising Yifan and making him cover his ears in the process. “Oh my goodness, you are such a boy.” She laughs as if it’s the funniest thing in the world but in fact, Yifan thinks her laugh is the funniest thing in the world. “So, you’re-“

“Jeijei, get out, please. I’ve answered your questions, just go.” Yifan takes a step back and closes the door in her face again.

But even though he’s made it clear that he doesn’t want to entertain her questions while he’s changing out of his casual clothes, she stills throws question at him from the other side of the door. And all of them were unanswered until she asks him; “Are you bringing her to the Gala?”

Yifan throws his school uniform into the laundry basket before he walks over to the door and opens it. Yuan was still standing there and from what Yifan could see, she hasn’t even moved an inch. As he looks down at his sister’s eyes, he purses his lips together. “I don’t know but I thought about that once or twice.”

Yuan beams at him. “You should definitely let her come, maybe even as your date. You still haven’t answered my question by the way. What’s her name? You like her, right? Dad won’t have a problem with her since he’s already too late. You should definitely introduce her to the rest of the family.”

There was the talkative Wu Yuan in front of Yifan, the one who didn’t know when to shut up. “Her name is.. is..” he hesitates in telling her sister. Could he trust her? Of course, you can. She’s family! She’s your sister!, were the words his conscience screamed at him inside his head. “It’s Jung Sooyeon.”

She perks up, still smiling widely at Yifan. “Jung? Is she perhaps related to the Jungs? The high-end family that owns that fashion company. Oh, I do love their dresses and style.”

“I don’t think so, jeijei.” Yifan shakes his head and closes the door behind him. “She lives in an apartment with.. with.. umm, with..” and then it hit him. Yifan didn’t even know if she lived alone or not, if she had parents or not, if she was an only child or not.

Yifan knew some things about her. But they were only ‘she likes this, she hates that’. He didn’t know her hobbies, he didn’t know her habits, he didn’t know where she worked, and he didn’t know what she looked like when she wasn’t wearing their school uniform. He didn’t know.

How foolish was he to think that he even knew her? 

“Hey, what’s wrong?” the reassuring pat on the back that came from his sister snaps him back to his senses. “What? Who does she live with?”

Yifan frowns, turning to look back at Yuan with furrowed eyebrows. “It’s pathetic but.. I-I don’t know.”

“What?”

“You asked if I liked her, right? I don’t even know that too.” And with another thing he didn’t know about her, Yifan frowns even more and sighs. “I don’t-“

“I think you actually do.”

“What’d you mean?”

“I saw the way you looked at her, Kris.” Yuan tells him, a small smile on her pretty face. There was something behind her eyes, like somesort of glint or spark but he couldn’t see what it meant. He could only see the suspicious smile she had on. “When you were walking by? I saw how your eyes looked. It’s the same way a person would look when they’re with the love of their life.”

Yifan admits that she’s a little bit taken aback by her words. How could she even say with just one look? How could Yuan say those when she doesn’t even know what Yifan was like to Sooyeon before they got close? He had left her in the streets at night, he had shoved her and pushed her away, he had thrown rude comments her way, he had kissed her for all the wrong reasons.. and yet, as he thought of it, Sooyeon was still by his side, enjoying his company more than ever.

Yifan, he’d be lying if he says that he’s not enjoying her company as well.

He thinks back to the times in where she had made him smile and he’s surprised that there had been more than three or four instances. He recalls the late nights in which he spent thinking about her until daybreak and he wonders now, did she every think about him too? He remembers the time he told her to let him in, to make her open up to him the way he did to her because it had hurt his ego when he realizes she was being cautious and secretive around him when he was so open to her.

He remembers all those times, recalling them one by one as he sat across from his sister drinking hot chocolate as the skies above them were turning into the pretties shades of purple and blue.

“Do you feel happy around her?”

“Yes.”

“Does she make you laugh?”

“Yes.”

“Does she annoy you?”

“..um, yes.”

“Do you find her attractive?”

“Yes.”

“Do you find her perfect?”

“No. She’s human. She has flaws.”

“Flaws that you can embrace right?” a smile crept onto Yuan’s lips and she tries to hide it by sipping from her mug, the hot liquid soothing . “Onto my last question then..” she eventually says when she sees he won’t be responding to that. “Do you like her?”

Yifan’s lips are set into a straight line and his eyebrows are knitted together. He had thought about it. But he still wasn’t a hundred, no, a thousand percent sure. “I-um.. Yes. I think.” he was hesitant in answering but his sister still sweetly smiled at him. 

/\ | \/ 

Sooyeon opens the door to the apartment and almost immediately, the heavy smell of cigarette engulfs her nostrils and makes her eyes water. She covers her nose with both of her hands, trying to block the intoxicating smell. The small apartment she shares with her foster mother is dim, not completely dark because of the street lamps from outside and through the small amount of light, she could see that the living room was messy. 

It wasn't quite trashed, but the sofas weren't aligned and the coffee table was obviously moved since it was no longer in it's original position the last time Sooyeon had cleaned the living room. The out-dated magazines from under the coffee table were scattered on top of it, the pages wide-open and an empty mug was on the table as well. The television was on, yet she couldn't hear anything. It was on mute. It didn't give much light to the dark room either, since the scene it was showing did not have much light too. Her eyes dart from left to right as her nose tries to sniff out her foster mother's ill-smelling perfume. 

But she only smelled the cigarettes and it's strong smell was masking the God-awful perfume that only belonged to the horrific Solgi. It didn't make it any better though.

After she had placed her school bag in her room, she searches in the kitchen but found it empty and it was untouched, the way she had left it this morning. She checks the fridge but she notices that the pineapple juice she had bought a few days ago was missing and someone had obviously touched her box of chocolates. Sooyeon was very organized about everything and when she cleans anything she'll distinctly remember where she had put them.

Closing the refrigerator door, she sighs to herself. "Where could that bi-"

Then, she hears something; . 

Her heart suddenly fell to the pit of her stomach as she stands there, facing at the dark door of Solgi's room. She has no doubt that's coming from there. As she balls up her hands to form fists, her breathing changed and it was shallow; she was containing her anger. She grinds her teeth against each other before she takes a step and then another. And with each step Sooyeon took, the got louder. 

"Right.." moan. "There.." 

Without thinking and with only anger blinding her, Sooyeon opens the door with a bang. "Lee Solgi!" she shrieks upon seeing the sight on the said woman's room. She was there, underneath an unknown man, shamelessly and showing her self to him. It disgusted Sooyeon to the highest level possible. The sound of the door banging didn't seem to move them that much, but Sooyeon's killer-like glare did. 

The man actually detaches himself of Solgi and rolls over with the blanket covering only half of his body while Solgi was clinging onto the thin blanket as she tried to cover herself as well. Her eyes held it's ground, she was angry too but not as nearly as angry as Sooyeon. 

The sight of them and even the sound of them doing it made Sooyeon's blood boil. Her palms are balled up into fists again when she spoke. "How can you come home like that?! You're away for more than four days and-"

"I left you everything you needed!" unexpectedly, Solgi was shouting back but her words were slurred, her tone was off and then Sooyeon realized that the woman was drunk. Again. "You-"

"How can you even live like you are right now, Lee Solgi?" Sooyeon manages to let out a dry laugh. Her eyes momentarily on the man behind Solgi and it looked like he was rushing to put on his boxers and pants. She snorts to herself before looking back at Solgi. "You've been drinking and drinking ever since Seun-"

"No!" the older of the two shrieks, covering her ears with both of her hands. "Don't you dare speak of his-"

"Seungho." Sooyeon had said the name so bluntly and no such emotion could be felt from it when she had said it. Just numbness. After he had died, Solgi had done everything to avoid the topic and Sooyeon couldn't bring it up because every time that she did or at least tried to, Solgi would shut down the topic immediately. Sooyeon expected her to do the same this time, but Solgi only stayed put on the bed, unmoving as she glares back at Sooyeon, her own adopted child. But they weren't a fmily anymore. They had long lost their connection of mother and daughter ever since the father had passed away. And just like that, everything, all the love and care Solgi had for Sooyeon passed away too. 

"You had let yourself go. You always drowned yourself with different types of liquor." Sooyeon continues on, not caring one bit about the man who was too busy putting on the rest of his clothes. "You tried to slowly kill yourself by smoking. I knew your intentions, you wanted to shorten your lifespan to be with Seungho-"

"Sooyeon, that is enough!" Solgi screams at her, eyes dangerously the color of red. "How dare you even-"

But Sooyeon thought otherwise. No, it isn't enough. " There was a time I once cared for you! A time where I once tried to stop you from killing yourself! But all my efforts? You put them in vain. You ignored me just like how you ignored the rest of the world. Just when I was slowly warming up to you.. you shut yourself away from me! And how dare I? No, how dare you, Solgi!" Sooyeon accusingly points a finger at Solgi, her voice had gone an octave higher. "After everything you said about Seungho being the only man in your life and how nobody and I repeat, nobody could ever replace him! You come home after five days, drunk! And in bed,  with another man!" 

Just as Sooyeon points her finger to the man she was referring to, he was already dressed but his hair was still messy and he still smelled of . He storms past Sooyeon, intentionally bumping her by the shoulder as he mumbled; "What a waste of time." 

"Wait!" Solgi's eyes widen and the anger behind them momentarily subsides as she gathers the blankets to cover her bare self, and Sooyeon can't believe it but after what she had said; Solgi is actually trying to stop the man from leaving. But however, before she could even get to the door, Sooyeon is there and blocks her way. 

"I can't believe you!" Sooyeon is screaming like a real girl now, looking at Solgi like how she should be looked at; pitiful. "After all your talk about Seungho, and after all your talk back then that you would never even dream of smoking.. this is how you turn out to be, Solgi? You put me into so much shame. I bet if Seungho was still here, and I bet he's even looking down at us now, he'd be so disappointed at his ty, drunkard-"

Sooyeon's sentence was cut short as Solgi's right hand slapped her by the left cheek and the sound echoes throughout the entire apartment. But Sooyeon  felt she shouldn't be surprised. She was used to it. Solgi had slapped her multiple times before and most of them were harder. Even though it's almost been a year since Solgi's last assualt and harrasment towards her, she had still let out a gasp of surprise 

This one, this slap screamed; Shut up! 

Sooyeon still spoke though. Two words. "That's it." she mutters as she tries to collect her thoughts and steady her breathing. She unclenches her fist before storming out of Solgi's room to head to her own. 

Normally, she would lock herself up in her room and just cry. She would let all the pain and all the sorrow out through the tears. She lets it carry them out of her and sometimes, she even falls asleep crying.

Never once did she thought about cutting herself or about running away. She didn't think about cutting because the idea was frightening to her and running away seemed more realistic, but she couldn't do that either. But this time was different, back then she was still a pre-teen who barely knew her way around the big city. Now though, she was 18 and she was off age in some countries, and she was more responsible not to mention much more independent. 

She can totally make running away a reality. 

Sooyeon didn't have much time. She packs all the things she could get her hands on while Solgi was banging on her door from the outside, spewing out words that Sooyeon couldn't quite hear and understand. 

She only had one suitcase and it wasn't big enough for all of her clothes to fit into. But she puts in as many shirts, pants, shorts and underwear as she could fit in. She folded her uniforms quickly, there were three of them and she was wearing one right then, and placed it on top of the pile before shutting the suitcase and she's glad that it's a little light when she had placed it back down on the ground. 

She throws in a pair of sneakers in her school bag and some socks, stomping at every step as she zigzagged through her room to get the things she needed. When she felt like she was finished, she zipped her bag to a close, placing it behind her back. She carried her suitcase with her, not bothering to put down the wheels to make it a trolley.

"Sooyeon! Open this ing-"

Sooyeon opens the door with so much force, it made Solgi, who was still covering herself with her own blankets, step back in shock.The older woman's glare wavered a little when she saw Sooyeon with her bags. "Get out of the way." she says with so much venom that Solgi didn't even do anything as Sooyeon purposely pushes her back, almost making her stumble.

"Where do you.. where do you even think you're going?!" Solgi grips on Sooyeon's right hand, trying to reel her back. But due to the adrenaline and anger pumping in the younger one, it was easy for her to push Solgi back with only one hand. 

"I'm leaving. Don't bother on calling." Sooyeon then snorts. "Oh, right! You didn't even took the time to buy me a phone-"

"Do you even think you're legal to do this? Where will you go? Where-"

"That is none," Sooyeon turns her head back just as she was already in front of the door. With one twist of the knob, she could be out of the apartment and be free. "of you're ing concern." she growls, venom dripping on every word and it sliced Solgi's heart in pieces when she saw the look of hatred Sooyeon showed to her. 

Before Solgi could even do anything more to pull Sooyeon back and to stop her, Sooyeon is already out of the door, bolting down the stairs at a dangerous speed while clinging onto her luggage. 

Sooyeon had only one person in mind to stay at. They used to be friends. Best of friends, in fact, but that all changed when they moved schools during elementary. They were reunited again during high school, but they're friendship had bee wavering ever since they had separated. She had been to her house a lot of times before, and then she wonders if it had changed ever since. But no matter how embarrassing it is to walk up to the front door and ask for shelter, she had to do it.

She had one person in mind, and she prays that she'd take her in even for just one night. 

Pheeew. Finally updated, huh? x) This is a bit confusing right? I'll explain more in the next chapter. Don't worry. ^^ Please do comment, yes? Pleeeease. I want to know what you guys are thinkig about this story so far. It's a bit jumbled up and it has holes in the plot, but I'll work those out on my free time. :) and keep asking questions. come on guys! x)