*beep beep beep beep beep*

The constant beeping sound coming out from the machine was the only thing JunSeo heard in the room for the past hours. He was staring at his baby sister hoping to see movement from her, but he received none. The only relief was SoAh’s slow and constant breathing.

This time round, SeongJun was the one that does all the paperwork and taking up the role as an older brother because he knew how devastated JunSeo is. He wanted to give his brother a rest from all these and to cry comfortably.

He finally got to feel how his brother felt while trying to stay strong for his family. It was not easy, not easy to hide all those emotions.

He had taken off for both him and JunSeo. He called the school to take medical leave for SoAh. He went to and fro the hospital and their house to make sure everything was alright. He talks his brother into eating his meals. He cleaned SoAh up. He did everything JunSeo used to do.

He watched both JunSeo and SoAh from the seat. JR insisted to let SoAh have her own private ward and that they don’t have to worry about the bills.

SeongJun was watching JunSeo when he saw him standing up, slowly leaning in towards SoAh. Examining and brushing SoAh’s cheeks.

“Hyung? Wae?”

“Who the did this to her?”

“What…?” SeongJun stood up almost immediately and headed towards SoAh to see what his brother was talking about when he saw the barely noticeable swollen left cheek of SoAh’s.

“Yah hyung! Calm down hyung!!” SeongJun’s attempt to stop his brother was useless, JunSeo was beyond furious, he couldn’t think straight. His sister was slapped on the face. When they knew she got bullied, they were angry, but they didn’t know she got physically bullied too.

“HYUNG!” SeongJun grabbed on to JunSeo’s collar to stop him.

“Let go this instance Min SeongJun.” JunSeo’s hand is now on SeongJun’s wrist, trying to remove it from his collar but SeongJun won’t budge. He was glaring with so much hatred into SeongJun’s eyes.

“Hyung, you always told me to calm down, you are the one whom is always so intellectual, I know what had happened to SoAh may get you agitated, but please, calm down and think clearly. You think baby sis will like what you are doing now? Remember why she doesn’t want to tell us when she got bullied in school? That’s because she knew you would become like this, she didn’t want it and she doesn’t like it. So can you at least, do it for her? Come back to your senses, I need you, SoAh needs you. You’ve become so much of a reliance to us that we all can’t stand on our own feet without you. Please do it for us huh. Hyung… please.” SeongJun said with so much emotion, his tears welled up his eyes, which made JunSeo softened. His grip loosens. When he was almost cooled down, and SeongJun was almost relieved. Keyword, almost.

JR had to come at the wrong time…with Mark following behind him.

“MARK TUAN” JunSeo was so worked up that all his anger fuelled up again, he ran past SeongJun and went for Mark, in less than a second, Mark was fallen on the ground with the huge punch JunSeo gave. This garnered several attentions from the passer-by.

“MARK” “HYUNG”

JR and SeongJun both called out at the same time. Before JunSeo could get to Mark again, SeongJun quickly stopped his brother and JR helped Mark up. JunSeo was struggling so aggressively to break free from SeongJun and to launch forward.

“Hyung, jebal” SeongJun was sobbing while trying to stop his brother. JunSeo rarely loses his cool, it was hard to see him like this. Upon hearing his baby brother’s cries, he stopped. His body weakened, if it wasn’t for SeongJun's hold, he would have fallen down.

Seeing him being more relaxed, Mark and JR moved forward to the two of them.

“JR, can you bring hyung back to the ward first? I want to talk to Mark” JR abide SeongJun and brought JunSeo back to SoAh’s ward.

“Mark Tuan, I believe there are some explanations to be made”

“I don’t know what my sister did to SoAh, but I am really sorry to know that SoAh fainted”

““I don’t know” won’t get you away from this”

“I know, I know even if I kneel down and beg for your forgiveness, it still doesn’t get me away from this, but I just want to say, I Am sorry for whatever that had happened. I really really like SoAh.”

“if you like her you wouldn’t turn your back on her, most importantly, I want to know who hit my sister?”

*So Joy really slapped SoAh…? *

“I think its joy”

“Who is joy?”

“My younger sister…”

SeongJun let out a sarcastic laugh.

“Like brother like sister. This is definitely not the first time huh. Just because you treated my sister well during the wake and we entrusted her to you. SoAh took so much time to open up to us after mom passed away, and took her long enough to trust us, we all thought she won’t have a 3^rd person that she would trust. And then you came by, she trusted you, and that’s what you gave her in return. Is that how rich kids play with people’s feeling?”

“SeongJun, I really like SoAh, I know I overlooked this, and I am very sorry. please, please just give me another chance to treat SoAh well, I promise I won’t let my sister touch her again.” The Mark never begs, but to get close to SoAh again, he tried. Now that he knew it was his sister’s doing, he felt bad. “SeongJun, I promise that I will take good care of her, please just let me see her”

“Don’t promise things that you can’t fulfil. Mark, because of you guys, she was injured. And from what I know, her head injury is getting more and more serious. I don’t want to see her in hospital ever again. She shouldn’t be here, she’s only 19years old, she should be having fun with her friends”

*Friends…*

“Hyung, let’s head out for a bit, give Mark and SoAh sometime together” SeongJun asked JunSeo politely. JunSeo nodded and went out of the room after JR and SeongJun. Not even sparing Mark a glance.

Watching the three of them leaving the room, Mark then went beside SoAh. He gently swipes her hair to the side and her cheeks in loving manner.

“SoAh, I heard you haven’t been a good girl, sleeping for almost 6 hours now. It’s time for you to wake up huh. Your brothers have been very sad, because of you. So you have to wake up. Not only your brothers, got 7 too, and… me too. I am sorry” Mark held SoAh’s hand, “I know it not your fault. I know you are angry at me for turning my back on you and siding Joy without even hearing you out. SoAh, if this is your way of punishing me, then stop and wake up now. When you wake up, you can vent your anger at me and all but don’t do this. You are not only punishing me, but also your brothers. You can’t see how sad they are but I am sure you can feel it right.”

Mark paused and scanned through your face.

He sighed, “SoAh, what I said that night…I meant it. I really like you. I heard that even if one is unconscious, they can still hear what’s happening around them, so if you hear this, and if you accept my heart, please wake up. If you don’t wake up, then I will know where I stand and leave your life, so you can have a better high school life. I know how much trouble I had caused you. Give me a chance to make up to you. Will you be my girlfriend? If you wake up in the next 10s, it means that you’ve accepted me. If you don’t… then I will leave.”

He started counting in his heart. He made sure he counted as slow as possible. He really wishes SoAh would wake up, he didn’t want to leave her. He wants to have her.

*7…8…9…* He took in a deep and slow breath and held tightly on to SoAh’s hand before he counted 10 reluctantly.

He let out a soft laugh. “I understand now, SoAh, I am sorry.” He reluctantly turned away from her, and his hand slipped of bit by bit as he took a big step, until he felt a soft tuck on his fingers that was about to leave SoAh’s hand. Without turning back, he was afraid to face disappointment all over again, his eyes widened, full of hope, he turned towards the bed, and shut his eyes tight.

“Are you backing out now?” SoAh asked softly, barely letting her voice out.

Mark opened his left eye to peek at SoAh, and when he realised she was really awake, he smiled. Tears of relief blurred his eyes. His hand is now fully laced with SoAh’s again until he remembered something, he scrambled up again and ran out of the ward.

“HYUNG, HYUNG, JR, SEONGJUN, SOAH IS AWAKE!” Mark was so happy that his smile was so bright that it shocked JR. Never had JR seen him smiled so brightly before. SeongJun and JunSeo rushed in to the ward while JR went to look for doctors.