▬「:CHAPTER ⊹ T H R E E ▫ ▪
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        sugar and spice . day and night . white and black . sweet and sour . present and absent . hot and cold . shy and bold . love and hate 
              ⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯BITTER && SWEET⋯⋯

“I’m prettier, right?”

The girl seated next to Em stared warily at her. “... You look exactly the same.” Em frowned and turned her head to face Yun Hee again, who was now seated by the middle row on the opposite side of the classroom. Feeling the stare, Yun Hee looked up from her notes and glanced briefly to the side, catching Em’s gaze. Em frowned and raised up her middle finger briefly before looking back at her desk. Yun Hee shook her head at the rude action and faced the board again.

“Okay, class. Can anyone tell me the answer to this question?” Mr. Kim asked, looking around the room.

Everyone avoided eye contact.

“Ah, Ms. Seoh.” She cursed under her breath. “Seeing as you’ve been nothing but the center of attention since this morning, why not for now as well? Answer, please.”

Em looked up at the board that was filled with hieroglyphics. “Um… It’s a number.” Math could go die.

“... Obviously,” he deadpanned. “Care for a more… intelligent answer?”

Em leaned back on her chair and shrugged nonchalantly. “That’s enough brain cells spent for me.”

Mr. Kim resisted the urge to scold her - it was too much of a daily occurrence. “Extra assignment later for you, Ms. Seoh.” She shrugged - completely used to it. Not like she did it anyway. “Anyone else care to give an actual answer?” His eyes landed on the other look-a-like. “Ah, why not your dear doppelganger then. What’s the answer, Ms. Jung?”

Yun Hee’s eyes widened a little in surprise that she was finally addressed by her real name. “The answer is 43x,” she muttered.

“Good,” he said, obviously pleased that at least one of his students was listening to him.

Aron leaned back so he could speak to the person seated behind him. “Total opposites,” he muttered to Ren.

Ren agreed. “So that girl two days ago was Yun Hee, not Em?” Aron nodded. Ren narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “... About the two of them… Did you know about this?”

Aron grinned. “Of course. I’ve been friends with Em for years - I could tell the difference.”

“... What difference? Get rid of Em’s glasses and ponytail and they’re exactly alike.”

“No, they aren’t~!” Aron said with a I-know-more-than-you tone.

“What-?”

“And what are you two boys talking about that is so important?” Mr. Kim suddenly said, narrowing his eyes at the two.

“Girls,” Aron said. Ren facepalmed.

“... I must be in heaven. Two adorable girls~!” Minhyun said with wide eyes when he took his seat. His seatmate was back to her pissed off self, but this time the person seated in front of him was her nice counterpart.

Yun Hee smiled. “Good morning, Minhyun!”

Eun Mi glared. “ off, Onew.”

“Dang girl,” Yun Hee frowned before turning to Minhyun. “Don’t worry, Minhyun, Onew is loved by millions of girls, so it’s a compliment!”

“... Who’s loved by millions of girls?” Em asked with a raised brow. “Hyuk here?”

“But you just called him Onew-”

Minhyun smiled at Yun Hee. “You get used to it…” He beamed at them. “Are you two getting along? You must be sisters, right?”

“Sisters?” They both repeated, Yun Hee confused, Em insulted.

“What else could explain your identical faces? I wouldn’t be surprised if you two were long lost sisters or something," he said to them. They supposed he did have a point.

“Nonsense, this girl came all the way from Busan, I’ve been in Seoul all my life. There’s no way," Em said with a roll of eyes.

“That’s what ‘long lost’ means, Em.” Minhyun gave a light chuckle before noticing Yun Hee’s expression changing the more she thought about the theory.

“Come to think of it, I don’t quite look like my dad at all... Do you really think your dad slept around?” Yun Hee wondered aloud.

“Yeah, totally. The bastard,” Em said without batting an eyelash.

“... Did you just call your dad a bastard?”

Minhyun laughed at that. “No, don’t you think you look too alike? I’m sure your mothers are the same too!”

“What if we really are long lost sisters…?” Yun Hee couldn’t help but find this true. “I mean, do you look like your mom?”

“Yeah,” Em said.

“... Don’t shoot down our theory so easily!”

Em opened to retort, but then shut it. She paused for a moment before saying, “In the picture I have of her, at least. My dad says she died.”

Yun Hee narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “Do you have the picture with you?” Because if that woman did look like her own mom… and for Em’s dad to say she died… She’d have to agree that the man was a total bastard.

“Nope,” she said offhandedly.

“Why not?”

“Why should I? She’s pretty and all, but I never met with her. She isn’t that important that I keep her picture with me wherever I go.”

“Well then, I have no problem showing you a picture of my mom…” Yun Hee reached into her bag for her Hello Kitty wallet.

“Oh, your wallet is so cute.” Minhyun grinned.

Em glanced at him. “... You sound so gay.”

“Aw, come on, everyone loves Hello Kitty, even guys do.” Yun Hee laughed. “Anyway, here.” She added while handing over a family picture to Em.

Em hesitated for a moment before taking the picture. She was silent for a moment, eyes narrowed at the tall woman beside Yun Hee.

“... Em?” Minhyun asked, somewhat worried. He had mentioned the sisters comment on a whim - he did not think that it’d get to this point-

“So… maybe your mom has a twin?” Em suddenly said. “... Or maybe this is my mom too… Ha… My dad's messing with me again,” she muttered, not quite sure what to feel.

“The more we talk about this… the more I’m starting to believe we are sisters… what other explanation is there?”

“... That this school loves me so much that they cloned me,” Em said.

Yun Hee laughed. “Maybe~!”

Em frowned. “Why did you agree with me? No one agrees with me when I say stuff like that.”

“Cause I found it funny, I know how much this school loves you… first hand experience," she muttered, her smile fading at the end.

“Are you being sarcastic?” Em honestly asked.

“Maybe just a little.”

Em suddenly grinned. “You’re a lot meaner than I thought you were, miss goody two shoes. Nice~! Maybe we are related after all!”

“You know, on second thought, maybe this is all just a weird coincidence…” Minhyun said a little nervously at the thought of Yun Hee being just like her sister someday down the road.

“Make up your mind, Nuyhnim,” Em said with a roll of eyes. “I thought you wanted us to be related? Boys really are fickle.”

“Don’t worry, Minhyun,” Yun Hee corrected his name, “If we do end up being related, I’ll be sure I don’t turn into that.”

Em scoffed and crossed her arms. “Of course! There’s no way you can be as amazing as me.”

“Exactly. There can only be one Em after all!” Yun Hee smiled throwing her arms up.

Both Minhyun’s and Em’s eyes widened. He turned to one with glasses. “Do you see why I like her a lot now?”

“Don’t use such kind words on me,” Em said with a glare, completely ignoring her seatmate's words. “Whatever act you’re pulling on me isn’t going to work.” The only one that was so blatantly nice to her was Aron - there’s no way there could be two people in the world that actually could be nice to her.

“I don’t know what your deal with other people is, but I’m not gonna stop being me. I am a nice person. Deal with it," Yun Hee said in turn.

Em snorted. “Well, that wasn’t very nice. That’s what I’m talking about! See? Your act didn’t even last five minutes!”

“You’re right… it wasn’t. I’m sorry.” Yun Hee frowned, lowering her head like a child who had just been scolded by her parent. I don’t know what it is, suddenly I talk back to her without even realizing it...

“Bipolar woman!” Em suddenly said, turning away from them. No one had ever really bothered to apologize her. She’d had her share of sarcastic words of forgiveness, but never a genuine apology from someone that looked honestly regretful. It both amazed and irritated her at the same time.“I don’t want to deal with you. Do your job and keep the girl entertained, guy seated next to me.”

Minhyun blinked and pointed at himself. “Guy seated…? That’d be me?”

Yun Hee gave a somewhat sad sigh, she honestly didn’t mean to upset anyone, especially Em. Just have to get through the rest of the day.

“Can I sit with you guys?” Yun Hee said with a bright smile as she approached Aron and Em.

Em glared at her. “No way.”

Aron grinned. “Feel free to!”

“Yun Heeee~” a voice called out. The three turned to the loud voice. Minhyun was waving from a table not too far off. “Sit with me!”

Yun Hee smiled and was about to follow suit when a hand suddenly grabbed her arm in a tight grip.

Em was holding her back, but her gaze was on Minhyun’s table… where Ren was. “Sit here,” she said instead. She did not want to take any risks.

Yun Hee frowned, confused, but complied with Em anyway. She seemed a lot more desperate than Minhyun at the moment.

Turns out she was wrong and that Minhyun was even more desperate. He took hold of his tray with one hand and the other grabbed onto the back of Ren’s collar. “Then I’ll go over to you!” he said cheerily.

“Make him stop… he’s been so annoying since second period,” Em muttered to the other two seated at her table as Minhyun was heading their way. Aron was seated across from her while Yun Hee was on her side.

Yun Hee laughed. Minhyun was very cheerful and loud… she supposed that’d get on Em’s nerves. Aron patted Em on the shoulder. “Deal with it, Em! He comes bearing an offering!”

“An offering?”

Minhyun sat across Yun Hee, forcing Ren to sit beside him.

Em nearly choked on her food when she saw the blonde. The three boys were on one side of the table, while it was both her and her look-a-like on the other side. She placed a hand on Yun Hee’s shoulder. “I am in your debt,” she said in a serious voice.

Yun Hee tilted her head in confusion. “Um… okay…?” She had thought Em would still be irritated at Minhyun… “Well, if everyone is happy - it’s all good!” she said with a bright smile.

Ren sighed in irritation at being interrupted from his lunch by his taller friend. He looked up briefly to greet the others at the table, but froze when he saw the two girls sitting next to each other.

He placed a hand to his head. “Ugh, my head suddenly hurts. I think I’m seeing double.”

“I think that is because you are indeed… seeing double.” Yun Hee smiled. “But if your head really does hurt, maybe you should go see the nurse?” she suggested, her smile fading into a worried frown.

“Or I could take care of you!” Em quickly offered.

Ren suddenly sat up straight again. “No, I’m good.”

Em visibly deflated. Yun Hee giggled at her reaction. “Isn’t it a good thing that he’s feeling well?” she asked Em.

“It’s a wonderful thing!” she said, but her voice was anything but happy.

“You take joy in my sorrow, don’t you?” Ren asked dryly.

“I take joy in all of you!” Em said automatically.

“I don’t think Em would lie? Would she?” Yun Hee looked around the table to support Em’s words. She could take the hint Ren was someone who made her happy and wanted to help her out. Maybe then Em would grow to like her more.

Aron and Minhyun avoided eye contact. Ren raised an eyebrow.

Em patted her on the back. “They know me well-”

“Ow!” Yun Hee yelped with a hurtful expression.

“What?” Em seemed caught off guard. “I didn’t hit you that hard?”

“Are you okay?” Ren seemed concerned suddenly seeing the look-alike in pain.

“Em! Be careful with her, she’s probably more fragile than you think!” Minhyun sounded like a worried parent.

She narrowed her eyes at Minhyun. “I know how to control my strength!” She glanced back at Yun Hee again. “Um uh… you still alive there?”

“Yeah, s-sorry about that… I’m just a bit sore from yesterday’s move,” she explained, wincing a little as she still felt the sting on her back.

… If she were to be honest, Em really couldn’t control her strength. She probably held back, but it definitely hurt a lot more than other pats on the back she received. “I… I think I’ll head to the nurse’s real quick for some medicine.”

What nearly floored Aron and Em though, was that even before Minhyun - the guy that was always fawning over Yun Hee - could say anything, it was Ren that suddenly stood up. “I’ll help you there,” he offered.

“What?” Em and Minhyun said, obviously irritated.

“... She’ll just get more stressed if either of you two help her,” Ren told them as he went over to Yun Hee’s side. “And you need to stay here to keep the peace,” he said, this time to Aron.

Before the two could object, Aron nodded. “Leave it to me!” He forced Minhyun to remain seated with his hand, while on the other hand, he gave Em his phone.

Ren wasn’t sure how that’d keep Em appeased, but believed in the tamer anyway. “Need help walking?” he asked Yun Hee.

She made a move to stand up. “Yeah-!” But then winced once she did.

He sighed and placed one of her arms over his shoulder. “I’ll help you.”

“You don’t have to…” She mumbled, though he went through with it anyway.

Em glared at the two, her blood suddenly boiling. Was that girl just acting hurt to get Ren to help her? Oh, she was more sneaky than Em gave her credit for! “I’m going to kill-”

“Three,” Aron just said.

Em bit her lip and glared harshly at their retreating backs… before facing Aron again, his phone in her hands. “... Fine,” she muttered.

Minhyun shrugged Aron’s arm off of him. “I won’t follow them, so stop touching me, Aron. I’d much prefer a girl to hold me back.” He was met with a punch to the arm. After wincing at the pain, he leaned forward to see what was in Aron’s phone.

There were childhood pictures of Ren… and Em was sending three of them to her own phone.

“... You bribe her well,” Minhyun noted.

“He only offers them to me in emergencies,” Em added. “I’m not sure if this is classified as one though. I’d be more pissed if Hun Yee was the one that initiated contact with Ren-”

The two boys suddenly tensed.

Em narrowed her eyes dangerously. “... Tell me,” she said in a threatening voice.

“They have the same voice, but why does it sound so different?” Minhyun whispered in fear to Aron.

“Are you going to tell me what happened or will I have to force it out of you?”

Minhyun glanced at Aron. The latter stared at Em for a moment. It’d probably hurt her a lot… but she was used to it, wasn’t she? “She hugged him on the day you were absent… He blushed like a total girl.”

“You did not have to add that last part!” Minhyun said in a panic when he saw how Em’s gaze was turning dark.

Hell was going to break loose.

But it was heaven over on the other side.

Ren looked around as Yun Hee took a seat on the bed. “Seems the nurse isn’t here… How very professional of her,” he muttered before going to the cabinet and sifting through the bottle of pills.

“Should you be going through those when she’s not here?” Yun Hee worried. Everyone seems to bend the rules around here a little...

“No,” he said. He took hold of a bottle and threw it to her. “But she only assigns us one brand-”

“Ow!” she winced as the bottle hit her head.

Ren’s eyes widened and he quickly went over to her. “Sorry! I didn’t think you wouldn’t catch it!” He groaned. “Of course, you’re in pain. How could you?” He took hold of the bottle with one hand and placed the other where it had hit her. “Still hurt?”

“Just a bit.” She pouted, not even realizing it. Not only do my muscles hurt badly, but I have to get hit in the head with a bottle of painkillers too? Today is just not my day...

He blinked when he saw her pout… He had never thought he’d see the day Em’s face would do such a thing. Realizing his thoughts, he quickly pushed them aside. “Sorry again,” he muttered as he handed her the bottle this time. He went over to the sink for a glass and water, “You said you were from Busan, right? You mentioned it during first period.”

“That’s correct.” She nodded, accepting the water from him before popping the pills into and swallowing them down with the water.

He took a seat on the stool across her. “I’m from there too… well, till high school at least.”

“Really? That’s cool. We have something in common then.”

“Yeah,” he merely said.

There was a few seconds of awkward silence.

“So, um, what school did you go to? Maybe I was there before,” he added.

“Jongin’s Academy,” Yun Hee said with a smile.

Ren smiled… but then frowned. “... I attended Haneul's school… practically on the opposite side of Busan.”

… There was another few seconds of awkward silence.

“So…”

“... Yeah…”

“I like your hair,” Yun Hee suddenly said.

Ren eyes slightly widened at the sudden compliment, but then he smiled. “Thanks, I hear that a lot actually.” He took a lock of her own long, black hair. “Though yours is a lot prettier,” he added with a grin.

“T-Thank you. Are you perhaps going to keep growing your hair out? It’s pretty long… not that there’s anything wrong with it or anything…” She stuttered, trying to hide the blush that was rising to her cheeks. It wasn’t like a gorgeous guy compliments her every day.

She recalled her conversation with Aron on her first day - he was right. Ren was nice if you were nice to him. She supposed he was only distant and snarky whenever Em was around.

“I usually keep it at this length,” he said. “Though I’m thinking of letting my black hair grow out. What do you think? I can never ask Aron or Minhyun about this - so it’s good to hear a girl’s opinion.”

“Whatever you choose, I’m sure it’ll suit you just fine, I mean you managed to pull off this blonde look quite well.”

“You’ll look good in any hair! Even with no hair!” Em's reply echoed in his mind.

He recalled Em’s words… and then Yun Hee’s. They were both essentially the same, but he definitely liked Yun Hee’s answer better.

“Thanks,” he said with a smile. Before the atmosphere could get awkward again, he quickly asked, “Feeling better?”

“I am, the pills must be doing their job.” She nodded, giving a thumbs up. “With that said, maybe we should head back to the cafeteria?”

“DIE!”

Yun Hee was met with kimchi to the face.

Ren quickly looked at the source of thrown food. “What the hell, Em?”

“You traitor!” Em wailed at Ren in a melodramatic voice. “How could you?! I thought we shared something special?!”

“What’s going on? What did I do? Ow, my eye…” Yun Hee asked as she scraped most of the food off her face- only to be met with another handful of some noodles.

“What is she going on about this time?” he asked, this time facing Aron… who was hiding under the table next to Minhyun.

“I can’t see anything!” exclaimed Yun Hee, eyes sealed shut in attempt to avoid anymore food from entering her eyes.

As another handful of food was thrown, Yun Hee accidently dodged when she took a step to the side and the sauced vegetables ended up hitting-

Ren winced when the food made contact with his cheek and side of his head.

Em froze, her face deathly pale.

“Em,” he began in a very dangerous voice.

She panicked. “What am I going to do? What am I going to…” She looked around and noted that though she was causing a scene, there were some people that weren’t paying attention to them.

So, being the self-proclaimed genius she was, she threw food at a random table of innocent people.

“FOOD FIGHT!” she yelled out.

“... You seemed oddly familiar with the principal,” Yun Hee said as the two girls entered the second period after lunch, having been away during the first.

“I’ve been here since grade school and I practically meet the guy on a weekly basis,” Em explained.

When the teacher that had stopped the food fight asked who was responsible, fingers automatically pointed at Em… unfortunately, some fingers had also ended up pointed at Yun Hee because of the resemblance. They had met with the principal after that and were told that their parents would be called and a meeting to be held tomorrow.

Needless to say, Yun Hee’s second day of school didn’t fail to be as eventful as her first.

As they entered the classroom, Yun Hee winced and suddenly rubbed at her eyes.

Em noticed and scoffed. “How fragile are you trying to act? Can’t even take a simple plate of food to the face…”

“For the last time, the kimchi sauce got in my eye… I think it’s still there too,” Yun Hee muttered in reply as a tear suddenly fell from the irritation on her eyes.

Upon noticing the two, Minhyun quickly went up to them. Everyone that had gotten hit during the food fight had managed to clean up, but some stains were still clearly seen on some students. Minhyun was flawless though - for some reason.

“Are you alright?” he asked in concern to Yun Hee. He then turned to Em. “You made her cry!” he scolded.

Em shrugged. “I make a lot of people cry.”

“That isn’t very nice,” Yun Hee said aloud as she took the empty seat behind Em. “I mean, why did you throw food at me in the first place?”

Em’s blank face suddenly turned dark, recalling the incident. Her attention span was severely limited, which explained why it slipped her mind, but with Yun Hee’s reminder…

“Seeing your face just really pissed me off.”

She wouldn’t admit she was jealous. So what if Yun Hee had managed to elicit more of a reaction from Ren in one day than Em had in months? So what?

“That was incredibly mean,” a voice scolded in reference to her words.

Em took her seat, looking down at her table. “Sorry for not being an angel,” she muttered.

Ren glanced at her depressed form for a second before facing Yun Hee. “I hope your punishment was light? Seeing as you’re not at fault.”

“We just have a parents’ meeting tomorrow - nothing that big,” she said with a reassuring smile. She glanced at her maybe-twin’s slouched form. “Um, Em-?” she tried to call out.

“Your voice is grating on my ears. Shut up,” Em said, not even looking at Yun Hee.

“Whoah, Em. You don’t have to be so rude… That and you two have the same voice,” Minhyun said with a small laugh.

“And at least the words she says don’t cause trouble for everyone,” Ren added.

Yun Hee glanced warily at the two boys. “She’s probably just really stressed from the-”

Em grit her teeth and suddenly stood up, causing her chair to make a loud screeching sound. She took hold of her bag and went towards the door.

“Class is about to start - where are you going?” Ren asked with narrowed eyes, standing up too at her sudden action.

“Bathroom!”

“With your bag?” Minhyun asked.

“Problem?!” she said before slamming the door shut behind her.

“... Is she always like that?” Yun Hee said, worry in her tone.

“Yeah,” the two boys chorused.

"I'm sorry," she frowned lowering her head. They both looked at her confused. Why was she sorry again? "All I've seem to accomplish today is cause a food fight and make Em mad." The two just sighed, honestly feeling bad for the poor girl. It seemed all she wanted... was to attend this school with no problems and have peace with the out of control Em.

"Seriously, Yun Hee, this is only your second day," Minhyun reached out to rest a hand on her shoulder, "Em gets pissed off easily and you shouldn't have to feel sorry every time she does. That's just Em for you. We're all used to it, soon enough you will too."

"I know, but-"

"Minhyun is right. We get you're different than Em, way different, but you're just gonna have to get used to it. Otherwise you'll be upset all the time... and we don't want that." Ren added in before she could protest.

"I most definitely don't want that!" Minhyun was quick to respond. "I'd be sad everyday too."

"Fine, I'll try to get used to it... though for me, it looks more difficult than it sounds. I don't know how you two can put up with her attitude like that everyday?"

"It takes time." Ren shrugged.

"I see..." Another frown made its way to her lips again.

"Stop frowning! It's breaking my heart!" Minhyun whined, clutching his chest with one hand.

"Will you stop? You're so annoying." Ren glared at the taller boy. Despite his words weren't exactly nice, the way he said it made Yun Hee giggle a bit.

"You two are funny." She smiled, her mood changing. "At least with you guys, my day isn't so bad afterall... I just hope Em comes back to class..."

Needless to say, Em did not attend any other class after that.

Arriving home, Yun Hee was greeted by her older brother who happened to be snacking on something while watching TV.

“Welcome home, how was school?” He asked, placing his plate down for a moment as his sister tiredly walked over to take a seat on the couch with him. A frustrated expression on her face.

“Well, it didn’t go any better than the first day, I can tell you that much.” She sighed pulling off her blazer. “Sore muscles attacked during lunch, got hit in the head with a bottle of painkillers, my look-alike started a food fight when I got back from the nurse’s office…”

“Explains your dirty uniform. Is she bullying you?” That protective brother tone kicking in.

“Well, I don’t really know for sure. We were just fine before lunch… but then it all went downhill at some point. She doesn’t really like me from what I can tell. With her throwing Kimchi and noodles at my face.”

“Seriously? How childish, throwing food at someone you dislike.”

“I don’t know, maybe I did something to make her mad…” Yun Hee frowned at the thought. What did I do to make her so mad? “Also, one of the guys in our class pointed out something interesting. He thinks we might be long lost twins or something. What do you think?” She looked up to him curious.

“I don’t know how else anyone could explain someone having an identical face as the other. I only started to think the same thing too when you explained what happened on your first day. Dad seemed to act a little suspicious after you told the story too….”

“Well, I think this will all be cleared up soon, since Mom and Dad have to come in to meet with the principal. From the food fight that Em caused.”

“I want to come too, see this look-alike of yours with my own eyes.”

“You have to see it to believe it apparently.” She humored.

Shortly after, her parents arrive home in time for dinner. She broke the news to them about her second day resulting a parent meeting tomorrow. They seemed pretty surprised yet worried at the same time. The thought of moving her to another school lingered in their minds the rest of the evening, whereas something else was bothering Yun Hee as she lied in her bed staring up at the ceiling.

“What if… Em and I are twins? Who are my real parents then? Does this mean… Leo isn’t my real brother?” That thought seemed to scare her. The brother she grew up with all her life… could possibly not be her true brother. She wasn’t entirely sure of what would happen if the outcome did appear that way. Would she have to leave this family? Would her real father request her to come live with him and Em?

Troubled, she got up from her bed and quietly made her way to Leo’s room. Peeking in through the door, she whispered to him, asking if he was awake.

“What is it?” He mumbled, sounding half asleep.

“I can’t sleep…” She stepped in a little further.

“Why? Something on your mind?”

“A lot… actually.” She reached his bed with a frown. What if my whole life has been a lie?

“Do you want to talk about it?” He patted the spot next to him. He was always there for her when things troubled her like this… thinking about the truth, she feared he wouldn’t be here for her anymore… That made her heart sink as she took the seat holding back a few tears. “What’s wrong…?” He seemed to take notice.

“What if… you’re not my brother, Leo? What if Em’s parents are really my parents?”

“Is that what you’ve been thinking about?” He pulled her into a side hug. “Yun Hee, whatever happens, we’ll still be brother and sister, you can’t just simply stop something we’ve known our whole lives.”

“But what if they take me away?” The tears started to fall.

“Then I’ll come see you, no one can stop me from seeing my little sister.” He comforted her with a tighter hug. “Don’t worry about this too much, otherwise you’ll lose sleep. I know this might be unsettling for you, but you need to sleep. You have school tomorrow.” She just shook her head as she held onto him. “Yun Hee…”

Now he was starting to understand why she was so upset. The mere thought of everything being a lie his whole life was unsettling… It doesn’t matter what happens… she will always be my little sister regardless. He thought to himself, trying to stay positive, if only Yun Hee could do the same.

“Hey, dad. Did you love anyone besides my mom?” Em asked when her dad entered the living room. She was sitting cross-legged on the couch, some takeout beside her and the television showing a horror movie.

Her dad rose an eyebrow. “... Are you getting sentimental on me, Eun Mi?”

She rephrased her question. “Have you had with anyone besides mom? I met a person with the same face as mine at school. Creepy as hell.”

“No. I’m a faithful husband-” Em didn’t hold back her snort. “-well, you’re no saint either,” her dad said with a scoff. “As for that look-a-like of yours… What’s her last name?”

A zombie was suddenly zoomed on the television screen - Em was unfazed. “... von Duke?” she guessed, no idea what it was. She was sure it was mentioned though.

“Sounds like a foreigner. My standards aren’t that high,” her dad said with a shrug.

“Figured. She’s too eerily nice - no way would a mom of such a good girl be stupid enough to fall for you,” Em said with a nod in agreement at her own words. Before he could retort, she quickly said, “Meeting with the principal tomorrow at school. He said lunch would be on him.”

“Lucky~! I’ll go then.”

“About time. You didn’t go in the past ten meetings he’s called for my father.”

“You’ve kept count?”

“No. I’m just bullting you.”

“... Aren’t you a little ray of sunshine?” he said with a smirk.

“I just take after your drought of a personality,” she replied with one of her own.

When he left the room and entered the kitchen, Em leaned back on the couch and tilted her head slightly to look at the picture atop the table beside her.

A lovely smile of a beautiful woman met her gaze… one that was so strikingly similar to the photo she was shown earlier.

“Is mom dead?” she suddenly called out.

She knew her father could hear her, but he didn’t reply.

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◞* ✄ — END CHAPTER ⋮T H R E E 

 Preview:  Chapter 4 

“So… has she always been like that?”
“Yeah, since the first day we met!”

“I see you raised my child well,”
“... You should have given us the other one as well then.”

“Why are you so upset? Is it really such terrible news to find out I’m your sister? You know what, I hate it too!”