The moment Kyungsoo picks up his phone, Haerin fishes hers out of her bag and dials Yunjae.  Walking a good distance away, she speaks to him in a hushed tone.

“Yunjae, whatever you do, do not take the bus that passes by our house.  Take the long way around.  Don’t stall in bus stops and keep your head low.  No contact with strangers, not even a smile.  I’ll tell you everything at home so please, please, be careful,”

As she hangs up, Haerin starts to listen closely to Kyungsoo’s conversation with her uncle.

“Hello?”

‘Hello, is this student Do Kyungsoo?’

“Yes, that’s correct, who am I speaking to?”

‘This is Son Jisung, I’m a patient of your parents’,’

“Ah, I see, is something the matter, Jisung-ssi?”

‘Do you perhaps know of a student named Son Haerin?’

“Son…Haerin?”

‘Yes, her,’

“What class is she in, Jisung-ssi?”

‘I’m not sure, 3-C, I think,’

Kyungsoo pauses for a moment before starting again.  “I’m very sorry, but I’m afraid I don’t know a Son Haerin, Jisung-ssi,”

‘Is that so?’ Haerin’s uncle says, his faked, dejected tone coming through the line.

“Yes, I apologize,” Kyungsoo glances at Haerin, who has been biting her nails ever since the conversation started.  He reaches to take her hand and squeezes it assuringly.  “If it’s not rude to ask, why are you looking for her, Jisung-ssi?”

‘I’m her uncle, you see, and our Haerin had taken her brother with her and ran away from home a couple of days ago, so I’m trying my hardest to find her.  She’s been through a lot of things and to be honest, the world out there might be too much for her to take,’

Anger flared in Haerin’s eyes and Kyungsoo nods at Sehun to let him take her away from the phone through which her uncle is speaking.  

“I see, I - Yes?!….. Okay, be there in a minute! - I’m sorry, Jinsung-ssi, I have to go, I have part-time job and the manager is-“

‘Oh please, please do, I’m sorry for taking your time, student Do Kyungsoo,’

“It’s nothing, Jisung-ssi.  I’ll be going now,”

‘Yes, thank you very much,’

“You’re welcome,”

The phone clicks as the two hang up and Kyungsoo walks over to where Haerin is to hear her mumble cuss words.  

“I’ll kill him, I’ll seriously kill him,” She buries her face in her hands.  “What kind of bull is he saying? I took Yunjae and ran away from home? He’s worried about us? What the hell? What right does he have to be able to say those things? What more does he want from us? What’s he gonna do when he gets us back? What are we going to do when he gets us back?” And with an abrupt raise of her chin, she looks at Kyungsoo in the eyes.  “He won’t get us back, right?”

She wasn’t the only one anxious about the whole situation.  Kyungsoo kept wondering why fate had been written in such a way that her uncle had to be one of his parents’ patients.  He himself was in a state of mental breakdown.  Son Jisung was that close to finding her and it hasn’t been a week.

“Kyungsoo, why do you have that look on your face?” Haerin asks again, standing up to stride surely towards her boyfriend.  “He won’t get us back, right?”

“Noona, calm down,” Sehun goes after her.

“I won’t let him, Hae,” Kyungsoo pockets his phone again and shakes his head at Haerin, who had squeezed his hand.  “We can’t control your uncle and we don’t know what he’s doing and whatever it is he’s gonna do.  I can’t promise you that he won’t find you, but I promise you that I’ll do whatever it takes to keep his hands off of you and Yunjae,”

“You have us too, noona, don’t worry,” Sehun and all the others come to surround her once more and although it did little to ease her fears, she was as thankful as anybody could ever be.

Interlacing his fingers with hers, Kyungsoo kisses her hand in an effort to release her tension.  “Let’s go home,”

***

‘We have to move out, then,’ Yunjae gestures the second they finish telling him what had happened.

“My thoughts exactly,” Haerin agrees immediately.

Kyungsoo’s parents had left work early to address the matter.  They were sitting in the living room with them, utterly apologetic that they didn’t know about who her uncle was and had told him Kyungsoo’s number.

“It’s fine, Mr. Do, Mrs. Do, it really is,” Haerin shakes her head.  “Nobody saw that coming either,”

“When is the tenant in the place you wanted to rent moving out?” Mr. Do helpfully asks.

Haerin glances at Yunjae at the question and starts fiddling with her fingers as she answered.  “Yesterday.  The landlady called us two days ago and told us that we were free to move in anytime,”

Haerin was reluctant to leave the Do’s household.  Yunjae, being her brother, surely knew that she did and had told her that staying another day or two wouldn’t hurt, but reminded her that they still had to move out.  She really didn’t want to leave the house, by then.  It may seem like she’s asking for too much, but whenever she comes home saying, “I’m home!” and someone would say, “Oh, you’re home?”, it made her feel like she has a family.  A warm family that cares for her dearly.  Having someone to come home to and having someone to wake up to were two very small things that struck a soft spot in her heart.

As if reading her mind, Kyungsoo takes her hand and shakes it gently, running a thumb over her knuckles.  “It’s okay, we’ll visit often, Hae.  You’re not very far away, right?”

Haerin puffs out her cheeks as she lets out a breath before burying her face in one of the sofa’s cushions.  “Mm,” Taking a moment to compose her overflowing feelings, she then lifts her chin to smile at Kyungsoo’s parents.  “I’ll start packing,”

Kyungsoo stood by her room’s door as he watched her pack.  Haerin had this look on her face that made it seem like she was moving far, far away from him and that seeing him would be something difficult.  She was sad and at the same time, it’s like she’s pouring water out of a glass; she’s emptying her heart, she’s trying to tone it all down and make herself numb, like what she always does.  His reluctance to let her leave his house stayed since the very beginning.  At first, it was just him worrying about how she’d live.  But now, Haerin and Yunjae had become a part of their household.  It’s like naturally, he and his parents had taken them along into their little family.  She was a girlfriend, a friend, and a little sister to him.  He had unconsciously gotten so attached to them that it felt like letting a big chunk of his heart go.  

“Stop staring, Do Kyungsoo,” Haerin chuckles, zipping up her suitcase and Yunjae’s.  “It’s not like we’re breaking up and never seeing each other again or anything, right?”

Sighing, Kyungsoo comes inside and takes their suitcases.  “Why don’t you look into the mirror and say that to yourself, huh?” He pecks her forehead and brings their things down.  

Haerin takes a good last look at her room, running her hands through the bed covers, the top of the study table, the window sill, and the books among the shelves before turning off the lights and leaving without looking back.  She sees Kyungsoo’s parents wait for her downstairs and she had to laugh to hide her sadness.  “I can- I can come here, sometimes, right?” She quietly asks.

“Anytime, Haerin.  Our house is your house,” Mrs. Do says as she pulls the girl into a hug, rubbing circles on her back.  

“Thank you for everything, Mrs. Do, Mr. Do,” Haerin pulls away first before she loses her whole composure.  “From the bottom of my heart, thank you for everything you’ve done for me.  I’ll come over often and bring you guys good food,”

“Yes, I expect to see that kimbap roll on the dining table every day, Haerin-ssi,” Kyungsoo’s father jokes, lightening the atmosphere.  

They walk Haerin and Yunjae out the door, and she waved at them out of the car’s window until her neck hurt.  When she’s finally seated properly, she starts staring off into space.  “Kyungsoo-yah,” She starts.

“Hm?”

“Do you know how much I want to tell you I love you right now?”

Kyungsoo had to swerve out of another car’s way in surprise before he could reply to what Haerin had said.  “W-what?”

“Just know that so far, I’m not saying it because I’m taking proper care of your feelings and insecurities,” Haerin checks the back seat for Yunjae’s condition and smiles when he gives her a thumb up.

“Hey, I’m driving and driving needs concentration,” Kyungsoo makes explaining gestures with his hand, showing his obvious nervousness.  “You don’t say those kinds of things when I’m dri-“

“Okay,” Haerin reaches out to take his hand and shake it gently like he did earlier in the house.  “Okay,”

Kyungsoo suddenly grips her hand and brings it to his mouth, threatening to bite her.  She squeals in surprise and quickly jerks away when he lets go, laughing as she hits his arm repeatedly.

If he was trying to make her feel better, he was doing great.

“Yes, ma’am, I’m right at the front door,” Haerin speaks into her phone as they get to the building.  “Yes.  Yes.  The reception? There’s a rece- ah, there it is, okay, okay.  Thank you very much, ma’am, I’ll call you again when we get settled.  Yes.  No! No! I’m here to live with my brother, not my boyfriend,” She glances at Kyungsoo and chuckles before saying her goodbyes and hanging up.  “She said to get the card at the reception under her name and just come inside.  It’s cleaned up,”

Kyungsoo nods and does her business for her while she fetches Yunjae and their stuff from the car.

“I feel like I’m sending my kids away,” Kyungsoo sighs when Haeirn and Yunjae had finally gotten settled.  They were back downstairs to send him away, this time, because it was getting late.

Haerin grins and gives Kyungsoo a tight hug.  “You have to come visit often.  Bring the kids too,”

“Of course,” He kisses her head and shares a shoulder bumping handshake with Yunjae.  “You take care of her, kid,” Kyungsoo ruffles his hair and gets in his car before rolling the windows down to wave as he drives away.  “See you guys.  Call me whenever,”

As his car disappears around a corner, Yunjae pulls his sister close and subtly gestures.  ‘Let’s get inside,’