Jiho entered the living room with his belongings, “Come on, Jiae. Jiseok hyung texted me. He said he’s on his way home. He’s bringing your favorite pizza.” He stopped when he noticed the serious atmosphere between his sister and friend.

“What’s going on here?” Jiae shook her head and unnoticeably gathered herself.

“We should get home before he does. He’ll be upset if he sees that we aren’t home.” She grabbed her brother’s arm and dragged him away with a heavy heart.

 When Mino heard his front door close, he groaned in frustration and pulled at his hair. He didn’t know who to betray: his best friend or Jiae. Did he want to give up on a relationship he wanted or a relationship that he already had?

Jihoon poked his head out from behind the wall. He looked at Mino with a sympathetic expression. He had overheard Mino and Jiae’s conversation while he was heading to the restroom.

He quietly approached Mino before speaking up. “Just ask her out. Jiho hyung and Jiseok Hyung will understand.” Mino turned around and saw his other best friend looking at him with pity.

“Look, it’s not like you’re asking her to marry you. I don’t want Jiae to feel hurt, so just date her. I’ll back you up if her brothers oppose.” Jihoon patted Mino’s back reassuringly before grabbing his things and leaving.

It was dinnertime at the Song household. Everyone was eating, except for Mino. He poked his rice with his chopsticks and didn’t even bother to spare the delicious side dishes a glance. He sighed as he thought about how he had hurt Jiae and how he had brought tears to her eyes.

He put his chopsticks down on the table before standing up, “I don’t have much of an appetite. Please excuse me from the table.”

His parents and sister looked at him with concern. They had never seen him pass up a meal.

As he left the dining table and made his way towards his room, he stopped as he heard someone knocking on the front door like a madman. Curious, he answered, and when he opened the door, he saw Jiho catching his breath.

Mino saw worry and anxiety mix together in his friend’s eyes and expression.

“Is Jiae here?” Mino was taken aback at the sudden question, but he answered with a quiet no.

“Have you heard from her?” Again, Mino answered with a no.

Jiho ran his fingers through his hair and groaned in frustration. Mino furrowed his eyebrows.

“What’s going on?”

“After Jiae and I went home, she went straight to her room. She left the apartment without telling me or Jiseok hyung. I don’t know how she left without being noticed. I tried calling her and texting her but her phone is turned off.” Mino’s eyes widened.

He imagined a stranger taking her away forever. He imagined her running away, never to return. At the thought of possibly never seeing her again, Mino stuffed his feet into his sneakers before telling his family he would be back soon.

He ran outside with Jiho by his side. They split up and began their search for Jiae.

Mino cursed at himself for causing so much trouble. He was sure that Jiae was missing because of what he had told her.

He spent an hour running to the school, to the playground, to the basketball court, and the entire neighborhood, but she was nowhere to be found. Mino doubled over and tried to catch his breath. His mind was a mess as he thought of all of the possible places she could have run off to.

Then, it dawned on him: their secret hideout.

Without wasting another second, Mino ran as fast as he could to the bread shop. He peered through the glass impatiently. He saw the owner carrying a plate of green tea waffles and a small cup of chocolate bubble tea toward Jiae’s usual table. Mino sighed in relief and entered the shop.

He quietly walked over to the booth and saw Jiae looking glum as she just stared at her waffles.

“Your brothers are looking for you.” Jiae looked up, and when she saw Mino, she frowned and looked at her plate of waffles. “They’re not my brothers anymore.”

Mino sighed and sat across from her. He crossed his arms on the table and looked at Jiae sympathetically. “You don’t mean that.” Jiae grumbled that she really did mean it. “They’re the reasons why I can’t even like you. They’re the only things in the way. If they’re not my brothers, I can like you all I want.”

“Let’s worry about our feeling later. Right now, you need to go home. Your brothers are worried sick about you.” Mino got up and grabbed Jiae’s wrist, but she pulled her arm away from him. She glared up at him, “I’m not going home. I don’t want to. If I even look at my brothers, I’m going to get upset.”

Mino sat back down and rubbed his tired face. “Jiae-”.

“No! It’s not fair! It’s not fair that my brothers can like or date whoever they want, and I can’t even like you because you’re their friend!” Mino stared at her with wide eyes. He had never heard her raise her voice before. He had never seen her genuinely upset until that day.

Silence blanketed the atmosphere, but it dissipated when her phone rang. She growled in frustration and indignantly took the battery out. Angry tears spilled out of her eyes and onto the table.

“It’s not fair! You’re the first guy I’ve ever liked, and I can’t even do anything because of my freaking brothers! What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to hide my feelings?” Jiae pulled at her hair and tried not to sob.

Mino didn’t know what to do. He was a part of the reason why she was crying. Ultimately, he got up and sat next to her. He held her in his arms and let her cry away her frustration.

All the while, a plate of green tea waffles slowly became cold, and a ring of water formed around the cup of chocolate bubble tea.

Somehow, Mino had coaxed Jiae into going home. She mindlessly walked with Mino. Her head was throbbing in pain from crying and being so angry. Mino snuck quick glances at Jiae during the entire walk. He wanted to talk to her but he was afraid that he would cause her to cry again, so he kept quiet.

“Jiae!” Mino and Jiae looked in the direction of the two voices. They saw Jiho and Jiseok worriedly standing in front of their apartment building. Her brothers ran up to them, but Jiae ignored them. She walked past them and into the building. Jiho and Jiseok looked at Mino in confusion.

“What’s wrong with her?” Jiho eyes Mino suspiciously. Jiseok, on the other hand, wanted to know where she had been the entire time.

“You know what, why don’t you come inside and tell us.” Mino wordlessly followed the Woo brothers into their home. He heard Jiae slam her bedroom door when he closed the front door behind him.

Jiho and Jiseok sat down on the couch, and they told Mino to sit as well. But he didn’t. He knelt down and got on his knees in front of them. They panicked and asked him what he was doing.

Upon hearing the commotion, Jiae opened her door and poked her head out a little. She saw Mino on his knees and wondered what he was going to say.

“I’m so sorry. I know I wasn’t supposed to because it’s against the bro code. I know that I’m betraying you guys. But I really like Jiae. I’ve liked her for a while. And she likes me. But I told her that we couldn’t like each other because I didn’t want to ruin the relationships between the four of us. That was why she was upset. She ran off because she didn’t want to face the idea of not being able to like me. I’m sorry. And I’m sorry to ask you this, but can you give me permission to date Jiae?” Mino looked up from the ground and saw a shocked Jiseok and a red-faced Jiho.

Jiho opened his mouth to speak, but Jiae beat him to it. She tackled Mino and hugged him tightly. Mino tried to pry her off when he noticed Jiho and Jiseok turning redder than a strawberry.

“You’re the best, Mino.” Jiae giggled and all of her anger faded away.

“Get the hell off of him! Woo Jiae!” At Jiho’s booming voice, Jiae immediately pulled away and faced her brothers.

“What the hell? This isn’t going to happen! I’m not letting my best friend and my one and only little sister date! I don’t care if you two are in love! I’m not going to give you my consent!” Jiae frowned deeply and looked at her oldest brother for his say.

Jiseok sighed. “I’m not happy. I don’t like the idea of you dating. You’re still young,” Jiho smiled victoriously, “but you’re old enough to make your own decisions and like whoever you want. You’ll have to experience dating at some point in your life. And Mino, I trust you make her happy. If you make her cry, I’ll kill you. And I’m sure mom and dad will be okay with your relationship.”

Jiho’s smile slipped right off of his face. “What? Hyung, you can’t be serious! Jiae’s a baby! She can’t date! No way! I-” Jiseok slapped a hand over Jiho’s mouth and pulled him down onto the couch.

“Don’t rush things. Be careful around Jiho. And no until you guys get married.” Jiae and Mino turned pink at the mention of such intimacy. “It’s getting late. Mino, go home safely. You two can talk to each other tomorrow. Jiae, go get ready for bed. And for God’s sake, Jiho, stop screaming into my hand. You’ll have a heart attack if you don’t calm down!”

Mino stood up and bowed to Jiseok, thanking him for his consent. He gave Jiae a sheepish smile before dashing out of their home. Jiae squealed in delight. She jumped onto Jiseok, crushing Jiho in between them.

“Thank you, oppa! You’re the best! I promise to be a responsible girlfriend. I won’t do anything that oppas, mom and dad don’t want me to do!” Giddily, Jiae went back to her room and got ready to go to bed.

Jiho was finally able to escape from his brother’s grasp. He shot up from the couch and glared at his brother. “How can you approve of their relationship?”

Jiseok stood up and stretched, “You know just as well as I do that Jiae has to start dating sooner or later. And it seems like they like each other a lot. You saw Jiae. There was a 180 degree change in her attitude when Mino confessed to us. She’s really happy, Jiho. And don’t you think it’s better for us to know who she likes? Mino’s trustworthy. He’s a good kid. And another thing, Jiae’s not a little baby anymore, Jiho. She’s old enough to date boys.”

He patted his stunned younger brother’s shoulder before heading off to bed. Jiho spent a good thirty minutes standing in the living room, frozen in shock.

“Damn it! Jiho, turn the light off and go to bed!” Jiseok’s tired voice snapped Jiho out of his daze, and he ended up going to bed thinking about how his baby sister was not so much of a baby anymore.