Milan slept first before every member. Because of that, they were all flustered and didn’t know what to do when the doorbell rang. They were so nervous when they heard the footsteps from downstairs. Chanyeol was told to check out who entered the house but it was a pleasant surprise to see Venice who just came home from working in their bakery.

“Bwoya?” She glared at Chanyeol. She didn’t seem like the little sister she was to Milan. She was completely different. “I’m sorry. I just had a tiring day and you know how much people ask when they find out your sister works with some Asian idols,” she massaged her temples. “Oh yeah, you’re not so great in English huh. I’m not great in Korean too so deal with it,” she said as she went to the fridge and got a bottle of water.

“Actually, I know conversational Korean. Eonni taught me when I was a freshman in her school,” her gaze softened on the Korean man. “Can I ask a favour, hyung?” Chanyeol furrowed his eyebrows when Milan’s sister just called him hyung. “I don’t like oppa, arasseo? That’s too girly and hell, I am manlier than that deer person,” Venice said as she crossed her arms and pouted.

She did look like her sister. She was as cute as her sister. “And what is it, Milan’s dongsaeng?” Chanyeol asked. “Can you stop the rumours from ever you know… spreading? I know eonni gets hurt. Eonni is really sensitive and she’s a big crybaby. I’ve seen her cry… I’ve seen her get broken and beaten down. She gets depressed easily…” Venice paused for a moment.

“Did she tell you she attempted to do suicide a lot of times?” Venice looked up to Chanyeol. Her eyes were sad. She was sincere. She wanted to protect Milan. “Eonni always tried to protect me. She gives a lot of advice and she always covers my ears whenever she knows I’m not ready for anything. She made me innocent from the cruel world but I know the truth. I know how the world works but she doesn’t let me get hurt and be worried. She’s like that to everyone and I hate it,” she frowned.

“You know… a lot of people were against eonni’s decision. No one wants her to go to another country and study there. She was a smart girl. She can easily get into any school she desired here but instead, she wants to go to a land full of strangers but I didn’t show her how much I hated the idea. I wanted to cheer her on like she did to me,” Venice looked like she was on the verge of tears.

“I was a fan of EXO. Heck, I still am, hyung but when I discovered she’ll be working with SM, I detested the company for taking my eonni away. I was greedy. I wanted her here by my side. I couldn’t handle it if she wasn’t with me,” she bit her lower lip. “No one knows who she really is there except for Ynna-eonni but she too is busy. I know she’s hiding something under that smile she gave me earlier but I won’t question you any further,” Venice returned the bottle of water back into the fridge.

“Hyung, please protect eonni from the cruel world of show business. She’s still too fragile to get into those scandals… If I were the one to decide, I would force her back here with us but we all have dreams we want to fulfil right?” She smiled for a moment but it was a sad smile. She then went up and he heard her greeting the other members upstairs.

Chanyeol thought for a moment about what Venice said. What if his feelings were just hurting her? What if his feelings were something bad to her? He never thought of the family Milan left behind overseas. He never thought how much they missed her and how much she misses them. She never told him her feelings about everything that happened. She never told him about how she felt when SM chose her as a new composer.

But it wasn’t her fault, Chanyeol didn’t ask anyway. “Milan… Mianhae if I keep on troubling you even though you have a lot of problems to deal with already,” he muttered as he covered his face. He remembered how Venice looked at him as if he was a criminal, as if he killed her sister. He felt the similarities between the sisters.

They get hurt but they still smile at each other. They will do anything to support one another. He was like that to his sister too and his sister was the same to him but Milan and Venice’s case was different. They had this different kind of bond, much stronger than anything he’s ever seen before. He wished he knew more but he wondered if he’ll regret knowing more about the sensitive topic.

Maybe to know Milan better is actually knowing her sister better too. 

Luhan woke up from a bad dream and sat up from his position. He looked down at the other bed just beside the bed he was sleeping on. He saw Milan protectively hugging her younger sister and Venice just looking like she likes being protected by her elder sister. Venice was silently sleeping, and Milan’s legs were wrapped around hers like Venice was some stuffed toy.

He looked around the room. It was green, a light shade of green. The bed was really soft. The air conditioner was at his left and the flat screen TV was in front of him. At his right were the beagle line all squished together.

At his right, there were white drawers and cabinets like in Milan’s room but the only difference was there was a white desk there too. There was also a white framed mirror at the back of the room. Luhan decided to get out of bed and go out to the terrace but he was surprised to see another person there.

“I thought you would be asleep,” Luhan crossed his arms as he looked at Suho. The leader only turned his head to acknowledge his presence and then up to the night sky. “It’s beautiful right?” Luhan went beside Suho and looked up. The stars twinkled and the moon was crescent.

“Venice talked to me earlier,” Suho shared. “And what did she tell you?” Luhan asked. “She talked to Chanyeol before me. And well, she told me to protect Milan at all costs, especially from you,” Suho looked at Luhan who only chuckled. “That sounds like a childish wish,” the elder said.

“Childish, maybe… but I call it a pure wish,” Suho smiled sincerely. “Venice is a grown woman, though not taller than her sister. She’s more mature than Milan. She looks wiser yet she looks clueless. She knows how her sister is infatuated by you but she doesn’t know how to stop that feeling. She never felt it before, I’ve heard,” Suho explained.

“Protect Milan at all costs… that was be difficult but we can manage with the physical protection. Though with the fans and scandals… That’s the hard part, hyung,” he added as he closed his eyes. The cool night breeze brushed against the two men. “She loves me, Suho. That’s the hard part,” Luhan told him. “I noticed that but the question left in my mind is…”