A contented sigh left Jongin's lips as he watched Sunny help Hyomin to eat; he could immediately tell that the bouncing bunny he fell for did not just look at Hyomin as a mere friend. Sunny looked at Hyomin with a passion that couldn't be described in words, and Hyomin no doubt loved Sunny more than anything in this pathetic world. Jongin couldn't stand in between two people who had budding feelings, could he?

Sighing at the thought of it, Jongin quietly made his escape and exited the room, not knowing that there was someone following him from behind. 

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Just wanted some fresh air. You should go back in.”

Sunny walked closer and gently linked her arm with Jongin’s, walking beside him as silence fell upon them. Jongin was blushing like an adorable boy being beside his high school crush, and Sunny was more than aware of it. She adored the way Jongin was behaving but his heart was probably going to be to broken; what if Jongin fell for someone else instead of her? He clearly deserved someone better than her.

Jongin let Sunny lead him to the garden, sitting beside her when she took a seat in front of the beautiful flower beds.

“Look, Jongin,” Sunny started softly, “I know that you have a small crush on me and that you’re hoping for us to end up together in the end but I… I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to give you that.”

A sharp pain pierced his chest but Jongin felt even more hurt when he saw the downcast look on Sunny’s face. She looked so… unsure, so afraid to open up to him. Jongin knew that Sunny had every right to be this scared of being around a potential partner or admirer; just look at how her last relationship ended up - Sooyoung cheated on her multiple times and made sure to let Sunny know she wouldn't survive without her.

Furthermore, Jongin was young and she was older - he was still schooling while she was already in the working world. He had so many dreams and goals while Sunny was not ambitious; she couldn't afford to follow her dreams. Jongin was a pure boy and she wasn't - for heavens' sake, she worked in a club to earn her keep.

“I know, I understand… you’re hurt so bad and you’re afraid to be committed to another person because you don’t want to be with someone like her. I get it,” Jongin whispered and lifted a hand, running it through Sunny’s locks gently, “but I’m not like her, and I will never treat you that way.”

There was a pause for a while; Jongin trying to form a proper and logical sentence in his mind as well.

“I have two sisters and I wouldn’t want them to be treated the way you were; I wouldn’t want Yuri-noona to be cheated on or Yoona-noona to be treated like dirt. To me, my sisters deserve the best because they’re the ones who took care of me and practically brought me up as best as they could even though it was hard on them too.” 

It was so touching to hear the youngest boy of the family admitting his love for his sisters who had to be breadwinners because their parents passed away early. Plus, this boy looked like a proud and cocky one - who knew he would have such a big heart of love for Yuri and Yoona?

“I’m sure Yuri and Yoona would like to hear those words from you more often, Jongin.”

“Hell no.”

As if he was going to admit that and let his two playful sisters tease disturb him for the rest of his life. Yuri was already so full of pranks and mischievious because Yoona condoned it, even though she had to pretend she was older - those two were stuck to the hip and had no issue reversing roles as they pleased - it didn't help that both of them looked pretty alike.

Sunny smiled; this boy was too cute. 

Hopefully... he wouldn't treat her like Sooyoung.

*

*

Taeyeon had rushed home in minutes, promising Tiffany that the truth would come out sooner or later. She had been rather upset that she lost another chance to redeem herself but her mother always knew when to call - breaking every moment between her and Tiffany or her and their friends. Tiffany wished she could keep Taeyeon there but the fear in her eyes told her that she couldn't - Taeyeon was not scared of anyone but this time, it was different. 

“Umma?”

Mrs Kim turned around and smiled once she saw her daughter come into sight; Taeyeon had never been more afraid of something unknown – her mother never turned up if she could help it. And Taeyeon wondered why all the time. She fidgeted uncomfortably when she felt her mother’s arms around her; the last time they shared a hug was on her wedding day; which shouldn’t have happened.

“What are you doing here, Umma?” Taeyeon pulled away and plopped herself on the single chair, choosing to ignore Baekhyun’s longing gaze in his eyes, “I thought you were having fun with Appa in Europe.”

A pang of guilt instantly hit Mrs Kim at the slight sarcasm in her daughter’s sentence; she couldn’t fault Taeyeon for being hostile or unhappy with her because the latter had every right. She portrayed herself as uncaring and completely cold but every single thing Taeyeon went through, she knew it exactly detail to detail. Her husband tried to make up for it too; he often called back and checked on her but to no avail.

Baekhyun couldn't stop looking at his wife who had a small smirk on her face; he wasn't used to this side of Taeyeon and he could feel his blood turning a little cold. If he didn't realise this earlier, then Taeyeon must have hid it well because there was no way Baekhyun could have expected her to be this cold and unfeeling towards a family member.

“Taeyeon, I didn’t come to argue with you today.” Mrs Kim sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose in sligh