Mirae’s POV

“Jongin! I’ll go to school now. See you tonight!” I shouted.

“Okay! See you!” he shouted back. I headed out. I was going to school to write the last few tests before the summer vacations. I had studied a lot while I was in China, so it felt good and the knowledge was definitely freshened up. Since I had woken up early this morning, I got to Mi Song’s house before she had gotten to mine. I hid behind a few bushes as I saw her walk out through the door. She would get such a shock when I jumped out in front of her. Mi Song casually turned left to continue down the street, not suspecting a single thing.

“Bu!” I shouted, jumping out from the bushes. Mi Song screamed really loud and began hitting me lightly on the arms.

“You cannot do that, Kim Mirae!” she shouted. I laughed at her funny reaction and waited until she’d calmed down again. After a while, Mi Song stopped hitting me and just pouted instead. “You’re so mean,” she stated upset.

“Sorry... I wanted to surprise you. Wanna hear about what I did in China? I think it’s better if I tell you that first and you tell me what happened here between you and Luhan afterwards, because I swear I’ll burst,” I said as we began walking to school together. Mi Song nodded.

“I think that’s for the best too. So tell me, what did you do?”

“Uh, we kind of didn’t do anything whatsoever!” I exclaimed, waving my arms in the air. Mi Song chuckled.

“Really?”

“Really. Mrs Lu didn’t want me to do much since she said it was supposed to be a vacation. I basically only did the homework and studying that needed to be done and then we would just relax, talk and eat lots of delicious food. And this will probably shock you, but I slept in Luhan’s old room all the time.” Mi Song got wide eyes and stopped for a moment. “It’s true. And you won’t believe it but he was really nice before he started 9th grade in elementary school. Mrs Lu told me everything about him.” I made a little pause, remembering what Jongin had said that Luhan did to Mi Song a few days earlier. “Honestly, Miso, before Jongin told me what had happened while I was gone, I thought I could change Luhan. It seemed like his friends were his problem and that he only is the way he is now because he doesn’t know what else to be like.”

“Mm,” Mi Song mumbled. “How was he then?”

“Well, he wrote a diary. Though in Chinese so I couldn’t read it... He had lots of stuffed animals and one that was particularly special to him, that Mrs Lu actually brought home. It’s a small deer that he named Lulu, which means deer in Chinese. It was really adorable. He even had a photo of himself when he hugged that deer on his wall... Then...” I made another pause.

“What?” Mi Song asked. I bit my bottom lip. There was one thing I really wanted to share with Mi Song but I didn’t know how she would take it. It could seem like I was defending Luhan, which wasn’t the case. I couldn’t help that the things Mrs Lu had shared with me had an effect on me. Mi Song looked at me curiously. “What is it, Mirae?”

“Mrs Lu told me that it’s kind of her fault that Luhan is marrying me.” I could heard Mi Song’s loud gasp and quickly added to avoid a misunderstanding, “It’s not exactly like that. She explained to me that neither she nor Mr Lu had a lot of time for Luhan. They left him alone a lot and since he’s a lonely child, he began seeing people he should’ve stayed away from. Thinking about it, I kind of understand him. I don’t know what I would’ve done if Jongin wouldn’t have been my brother. And she said that they thought a marriage with a nice girl could change Luhan, which is why they took the opportunity when my father gave them the option.”

“Mirae? Are you seriously defending Luhan in any way?” Mi Song questioned. She had a stingy tone in her voice.

“I’m not!” I instantly replied. “It’s just that I understand that he would do everything to get his parents’ attention. He found a liking for the control he had when he was with his friends and used it to feel better about himself. It’s not strange that it’s stuck within him until now. But Miso, I believe he can change. I’m serious.” Mi Song stared at me with blank eyes. , I should’ve known she would react like this. “Miso, listen to me,” I tried.

“Have you started liking him just because of how he was when he was younger, Mirae? After everything he’s done to you, me and Jongin, you still think he is capable of a change? Ha, I’m sorry if I doubt that.