Hye Jin’s POV

I arrive home to the sounds of screaming and out of nowhere my little brother jumps into my arms. 

“Noona,” he cries. “Omma and Appa are fighting again.” 

I pat his back soothingly as I take off my shoes and make my way to my bedroom, still comforting him. I close the door behind me and walk over to the bed. I pull back the covers and lay him down. I tuck him in and go to walk back out when he grabs my hand. I sit down on the edge of the bed and his hair. 

“Noona…” he whimpers. 

“It’s okay.” I say soothingly. “It’s okay, Tae Jin-ah. Noona is right here. I’ll be right back okay so you just close your eyes.” 

I walk over to my stereo and press play, letting the soothing sounds of music fill the room and drown out the yells of our parents. I walk back to Tae Jin and kneel beside him. 

“Tae Jin-ah, Noona will be right back. Okay?” I say again and he meekly nods. 

I his hair one more time before standing up and leaving the room. I make my way to the living room where Mum and Dad stand yelling in each others faces. 

“Omma! Appa!” I yell, getting their attention. They both look at me, breathless from all their screaming. “What is wrong now? Tae Jin is scared out of his mind right now. Do you have to argue like this in front of him?” 

“If we didn’t have to move AGAIN we wouldn’t even be arguing in the first place!” Dad yells at me. 

We all freeze.

“Hye Jin-ah.” he says, taking a step towards me. I step back. “Sweety, I’m sorry. Appa didn’t mean-“

“I’m sorry.” I say, quickly. I turn away and go back into my room, locking the door behind me. I climb into the bed beside Tae Jin and curl up, facing my back to him. I let the tears fall down my face, covering my mouth so as not to wake my little brother up. 

My efforts are wasted when I feel a small hand on my shoulder. 

“Noona.” Tae Jin sobs. “Are you okay?” 

I turn around to face him and pull him into my arms. My baby brother. He’s only 6 but I don’t ever want him to see me like this. Ever. 

“I’m sorry, Tae Jin-ah. Noona is okay. I’m sorry for waking you up. Go back to sleep now.” I say, holding back my tears. 

“Omma and Appa have stopped.” he says quietly. 

“Yes, they have.” 

“Did Noona do that?” he asks. 

“Yeah. Noona asked them to stop so that you can get some sleep.” I say. 

“Thank you, Noona.” he says, tightening his grip around me. 

I have to stop myself from breaking down again as I pat Tae Jin’s back in a calming rhythm. Shortly after I can hear his soft snores as he falls into slumber. 

The next morning I wake up and I can already feel the swelling in my face and especially under my eyes. As I stir, so does Tae Jin. 

“Good morning, Noona.” he says, smiling up at me. No one would doubt that we’re siblings. We look the same, swelled up faces and all. 

“Good morning, Tae.” I say, ruffling his hair. 

“You look funny.” he says, giggling at my face. I giggle right back.

“So do you.” I say, tickling him. He rolls around laughing, trying to dodge my attacks. I stop tickling and pull him in for a hug. He hugs me back and I sit up. 

“Okay. Let’s get ready for school.” I say, turning my body so that I can place him on the floor. I swing my legs off the bed and stand up too, holding my hand out for Tae Jin to take. He takes it and I lead the way out of the room. We go into his room and he picks out what to wear for the day. I then send him in the direction of the bathroom. 

I head out to the kitchen and get our breakfast ready. I’m interrupted by the entrance of my mother. 

“Good morning, Hye Jin-ah.” she says, avoiding my eyes. 

“Morning.” I say, half-heartedly. 

“About last night -“ 

“It’s fine, Omma. I know this is all my fault.” I cut her off. 

“You know that’s not what I meant.” I turn to the sound of my Dad’s voice as he makes his entrance into the kitchen. “We’re all having a hard time.”

“Yeah, because of me. I’m sorry we had to move but I just couldn’t live like that anymore. You could have just sent me off without following me.” I say, getting annoyed. 

“What about Tae Jin? You know how much he relies on you.” he argues. 

“Noona,” we all turn to look at Tae Jin, who has just come out from the bathroom, hair dripping wet. 

“All done, Tae?” I ask him and he nods. I go over and pick him up, bringing him into my room. I take his towel and dry his hair. 

“Noona, were you fighting because of me?” he asks. 

“No, baby. Of course not. Omma and Appa are upset we had to move that’s all.” I say. He knows the story. Whether he understands it or not, I’m not sure. 

“But Noona was having a hard time. So we had to move.” I stare at my baby brother as he stares at the floor. “Even I know that.” He mumbles. I pull him into a hug and his hair. 

“Thank you, Tae.” I say. I pull away from him and look into his eyes. “Now go out and have breakfast. Noona has to get ready too.”

He does as he’s told and shortly after we’re both making our way hand-in-hand to his school. Our house is fairly close to both our schools and Tae Jin’s kindergarten is only a few blocks away from my school. 

“Noona, did you make many friends yesterday?” Tae Jin asks. 

“I think I made one friend. He sits beside me and his name is Young Jae.” I say, thinking back to our first meeting the day before. 

“Young Jae? That’s a boy’s name.” he says, looking up at me. I nod. “Do you like him?” 

I stop walking and stare down, wide-eyed at my baby brother. What words are coming from his 6 year old mouth right now? 

“Yah, Kim Tae Jin.” He starts to giggle and I pick him and swing him around making him shriek with joy. 

“Hye Jin-ah?” I stop playing with Tae Jin and turn towards the voice that called my name. Just my luck. It’s Young Jae. 

“Oh, hey Young Jae. What are you doing here?” I ask. I see Tae Jin glance between me and Young Jae and his genius 6 year old brain puts two and two together. I quickly put him down and hold him close to me, covering his mouth in the process. He tries to pry my hands away from his face. 

“Uhh… your brother?” Young Jae says, looking down at Tae Jin. I smile at him and nod. Tae Jin succeeds in pulling my hands away and runs over to Young Jae, stopping inches in front of him and looking up at the guy with curiosity in his eyes. He stares at him for a few seconds and Young Jae looks to me for help. I shrug, keeping an eye on my brother to see what he’s going to do next. 

He turns around and walks up to me.

“Noona, I approve.” he says, taking my hand and walking back towards Young Jae. He takes one of his hands, so that we’re on either side of him. He looks up to Young Jae. “Come on, hyung. Walk me to school.” 

“Huh? Oh. Okay. Sure.” I look apologetically in Young Jae’s direction and he nods, silently telling me it’s okay. “So, what’s your name little guy?” 

“I’m Tae Jin. Kim Tae Jin.” 

“Well, it’s nice to meet you Tae Jin. I’m Young Jae. Choi Young Jae.” I smile at the interaction between the two boys. 

“Hmm.” Tae Jin looks up as if he’s thinking. “Choi Hye Jin. That sounds okay.” 

“Kim Tae Jin. What nonsense are you talking about?” I say sternly and he looks up and smiles at me full of aegyo. I sigh and use my other hand to ruffle his hair. “I can’t even be mad at you.” 

Young Jae laughs, and we continue walking, arriving at Tae Jin’s kindergarten shortly after. 

I kneel down and give Tae Jin a hug. 

“Love you, Noona.” he says into my hair, just like every other day.

“Love you too, Tae.” I say before he pulls away. He reaches up to high five Young Jae and then runs into the building, stopping to wave one last time. 

Once he’s gone I turn to Young Jae. Man is it awkward. 

“Shall we?” Young Jae says, signalling in the direction of our school. I nod.

“We shall.” 

Young Jae’s POV

I lead the way towards school, Hye Jin following closely behind me. I slow down my steps so that I can match her pace but she slows down again. I stop walking and I expect her to bypass me but she walks straight into my back. 

“Ah!” she exclaims. I turn, seeing her hold her hands to her head. “Why’d you stop?” 

“Why are you walking so slow?” I ask back. She blinks several times, looking like a lost puppy. 

“I- I’m not. Y-You’re just walking too fast.” She stutters. I lean down so that I’m eye-level with her. I lean forward, bringing our faces closer. She leans back and looks everywhere but at me, while I continue to eye her. 

“Why are you stuttering?” I ask, quietly. 

“I- I- I- I’m not.” she scrunches up her face, knowing she just contradicted herself. I stand up straight and laugh. 

“Are you going to walk next to me, or do I have to keep making you walk into my back?” I ask as she straightens up too. She clears and straightens out her uniform. 

“L- Let’s go.” she says as she steps beside me. 

I put my foot forward and wait for her to do the same before I start walking. 

“That’s better.” I mumble. “Your brother is cute. How old is he?” 

“He’s 6.” I nod. 

“He’s a smart 6 year old.” She laughs, seemingly less nervous now.

“He’s a genius if you ask me.” She stops laughing and I look over at her. She glances sideways at me and rubs her hand on the back of her neck. “Sorry about the things he said earlier by the way. I don’t know what came over him. It’s the first time I’ve heard him talk like that. I’ll have to have a word with him when we get home.” 

“It’s fine. I thought it was cute. He’s good at judging people too.” I joke. I look at Hye Jin again and I see her face turning a light shade of pink. I have to hold back my laughter. 

Shortly after we arrive at the school gates and I see Bam Bam and Yu Gyeom waiting. I groan, making Hye Jin look up at me. 

“Everything okay?” she asks. 

“Hye Jin-ah, I am very very sorry about what is about to happen. But please understand I have no control over it. I will try my best to make it less awkward for you.” I speed up, leaving her with a confused look on her face. 

“Hyung!” Yu Gyeom calls out. I lift my hand to wave, and I see their eyes shift to Hye Jin, behind me. “Oh, how come you two are together?” 

I can see the look in his eyes as he exchanges glances with Bam Bam. Then the two start giggling like high school girls. I try to send them a look telling them to drop it but it just makes them laugh harder. Hye Jin appears beside me, looking as confused as ever. 

“Hey, guys.” She says, waving at the two younger guys. They giggle some more and she looks at me. “What’s with them?” 

Before I can answer Bam Bam bounds up to us and puts his arm around Hye Jin, Yu Gyeom following closely behind. He hits Bam Bam’s hand making him remove his arm from her shoulder. 

“Don’t do that. Hyung will get mad.” He says, and the two start giggling again. I groan again and drop my head in my hands. 

“Why would he-?” I run behind Hye Jin and grab onto her shoulders pushing her forward and towards the school. 

“You guys should get to class. I’ll see you at lunch time.” I yell behind me. 

I continue to push Hye Jin towards the building and just as we enter the front doors she twists out of my grasp and I tumble forward slightly, regaining my balance before I make a complete fool of myself. 

“What was that about?” she asks, hands on her hips. 

“Oh, that. Nothing.” I say, laughing it off but she’s not convinced. She glares at me, determined to get an answer. I sigh. “Let’s just say that they are my version of Tae Jin.” 

“Tae Jin?” I quickly walk past her and into the classroom, not wanting to say anything else. 

I sit down at my desk and shortly after Hye Jin enters the room. She sits down beside me and I stare straight ahead, waving at the other students as they make their way to their desks. 

“So,” I hear her say from beside me. “Care to explain to me why those two think the same way Tae Jin does?” 

Damn it. I didn’t think she’d be so straightforward about it. But then again, I should have guessed it. She wasn’t a normal girl to begin with. I could tell that much when I met her yesterday. But, two can play at that game. 

“Care to explain to me why Tae Jin thinks the way he does?” I turn my head to look at her and she’s as dumbstruck as I was when she asked me her question. She turns to look at me and we stare at each other for a few seconds before bursting out in laughter. 

“What’s so funny?” We both turn to the voice and spot Na Ri beside our desk, glaring. 

“Nothing.” I say. “What’s up?” 

“Are you free after school today, Oppa? You promised you’d watch a movie with me.” she says, flicking her hair and smiling prettily, or so she may think. 

“Uhh… did I?” I say, genuinely not remembering making such a promise. 

“You did.” she leans down on her elbows onto my desk, clearly trying to appeal to me with her cleavage. I hear a retching sound beside me and turn towards the noise. I see Hye Jin, looking as if she’s going to be sick. 

“Are you okay?” I ask, placing my hand on her back and gently patting it. 

“Y-Yeah.” she says, spluttering. “I’m just allergic to high doses of desperation.” 

Wait. What? I stop patting Hye Jin’s back and stare at her. She looks up at me and then I see her eyes shift. I follow her line of sight, turning my head to look at Na Ri, who’s mouth is hanging open, speechless. I turn back to Hye Jin, who is now smirking. I feel a smile tugging at the corners of my lips. I turn back to Na Ri and the look on her face is just too much. I burst out in laughter, quickly covering my mouth in order not to offend Na Ri more. She straightens herself up and huffs, crossing her arms across her chest. 

“It may be because you’re new here, but you really shouldn’t mess with me.” she says through gritted teeth. 

“It may be because you don’t know me, but I’m no pushover.” Hye Jin says back, leaning back confidently in her seat. 

Na Ri huffs again before turning on her heel and stomping back to her seat on the other side of the room. I turn my attention back to Hye Jin and stare. 

“Is there something on my face?” she asks, glancing at me. I shake my head.

“You’re amazing.” I say, in awe. She stares back at me and I realise what I just said. . 

A/N: Yayyy chapter 2!

It's good to see some of you back after my previous fic. I must say... I love you all. You guys just make my day. :D

It's a bit of a slow start but I'm still working out the finer details of where this story is going so bear with me a little yeah? I just didn't wanna leave you guys without an update for so long. 

xoxo