The bookstore had always open early, starting from nine to nine. Am to pm. For some reason, that place had always filled with people, as if it was a cafe or restaurant. Maybe it was because of the atmosphere that is comfortable for people to reach for their favorites on the shelves. The place was not big,  only as big as Yoora’s house and actually, it resembled the house too. 

“Unnie, good morning” Areum was cleaning the window and a figure of a woman on white suite just caught her eyes. Then, once that woman entered the store through the front door, she bowed to her.

“Morning! Come on, no need to bow” Yoora chuckled. “Ah, must be because of my clothes today… Do I look very… official?”

“No, you look very pretty!” She gave her a thumb. “Oh, Unnie I got a call from the shipper and they said that the new books will come today, around twelve,”

Yoora went to the counter and checked on some papers. Like any other days, it seemed like she was prepared with anything flawlessly “Hmm, Yeah, but today is friday, right? So I think there won't be that much of people, hope it won't bother them or anything”

“Yes—“

“Ya Unnie! Where are you going??” Someone opened the side door that connected the store to the house, and made a way for a baby to walk in and ran to his her sister. “I don't have class until evening, but I’m not going to help the store, okay? Got it?” and that someone was no other than Kang Eunju.

“I Didn't ask you,” The Unnie grinned, “Yet”.

Areum picked up her brother and carried him around since she had finished cleaning up. During the days, If Kyunggi was bored with what's on TV or with his blocks, he usually accompanied his sister on the store. “Winnie the pooh, yellow bear?” And his favorite shelves was of course the shortest one, the kids corner.

“Yup, and look, there is piglet too!” Kyunggi grab the book and gave it to Areum. It was still sealed and when Kyunggi tried to open it, “No, no, Kyunggi,  you have to pay for it first” Areum quickly stopped him; It made him a little bit startled, “Kyunggi, If you want anything from this rack or any rack you have to tell me first, then I can give the money to buy this, once it is bought, the book will become yours then you can read it all you want” but she tried to carefully explain it to him.

Kyunggi just nodded while sulking.

She looked at the back of the book, to check on the price. 25,000 won?!. “Maybe next week, okay?”

 Yoora was watching the siblings from the counter “Kyunggi-ya, noona would like to buy you that book, but you must listen to what your sister says, okay?” with happiness decorating her face. “Come here and bring the book!”

The baby boy doing what he was told with full excitement. “Hehehe”. He tried to reach for the counter, but he couldn’t, so then Eunju who was not far from where he stood helped him to sit on the counter. 

Eunju took out her wallet, and grab the exact amount of 25,000 won. “There, use that money to pay”. She nonchalantly said.

“kam..sa…ham..nida” 

“Gyeowo. Kyunggi really reminds me of Hyukkie you know,” Yoora put the bag on the paper bag once the transaction was done. 

“Speaking about Hyuk, it's been a while since the last time that kid visit this place” Eunju muttered. “So does his hyung, the last time Ken visited was when he found out that you stayed with his mom, right?”

“Oooh yes,” Areum nodded. “It’s been awhile”

“Now I wonder, just what actually happened in that house..” 

“You’re moving out?” Ravi shut the door, but hongbin made his way out of it. “Bu— but why??”

As he carried the last box on his hands, he tried to not pay attention to whatever his friend was saying and just went to the taxi that has waited for long enough. 

He got his hands on his own white hair, and ruffled it out of frustration. “Ya— ya! at least tell me where!”

“Dorm,”.Hongbin closed the gate again, and finally looked at Ravi in the eyes. “See you around! I’ll visit when I can!” He waved his hand goodbye, with a grin of somehow-what-seemed-to-be satisfaction.

Hongbin got into the taxi, and then the taxi just left like there was nothing happened, leaving Ravi in a total confusion as he stood himself in front of the front door, leaned on it. “What just happened?”

“Is he gone already?”. Right there, Ravi almost loses his soul again when someone opened the door and with only his head to be shown. 

“Hyung! what— what the— ya! are you crying?!” He turned around and checked on his face, “Hakyeon hyung!”

“Well of course I’m crying! How can I not!” Hakyeon could only look at the empty street, while imagining the taxi still being parked out there. “I’m a failed brother”

Ravi nodded ; “why are you guys fighting so early in the morning?” 

His head was already occupied with bad words, curses, directed to his own mind and so every question seemed to be nothing but a complete bull. “Fuc— argh!!! Dong Hakyeon you!!!”

Hakyeon walked away from the door, disappeared to the inside of the house. 

"Oh god..."

******

“Hyung! I can't be late! Get out of there or something i don't care and I won't look, just let me take a shower!!” Ken was very vocal, soon after he woke up at 10 am, 30 minutes away from the first class started. “You can always use the other bathroom you know!!” After a minute with no reply, he started to knock on the door. “Hyung! Leo Hyung—“

Ken immediately closed his mouth because of the sound of the door being unlocked; and a hand was shown, with a toothbrush, shampoo and soap bottles, that belonged to him.

“Ha— Haissh! hyung!” He snatched those things away from the big hands, and permitted  it to went back to the bathroom again. “My face wash too! My conditioner! my horse hair bristles shower brush!”

Not long after that whine, the door was opened again, but then instead of hand only, a man appeared with a towel on his waist. He had his eyes locked into Ken, even when his wet hair covered the most part of his brow and eventually, his eyes. 

“What took you so long, huh?” Ken clucked, then jumped into the bathroom. Shut the door, and then the rest was only him blabbering ; “Just why does he have to go jogging every day and like exercise and then pretend to not showing his abs— aish, that cocky guy— abs? of course i do have, see, you see park jaehwan, your tummy is still better than Jung’s!”

For being the Leo himself, he only got to listen until the word jogging and after that, he already left the bedroom, clothed and clean.

“Are you sure you don't want me to drive you there?” Her attention was fully on the phone in her hands, but at times, she liked to steal glances at the girl who was running around the bedroom. “You have the habits of being lost and missing”

Areum checked the desk, the floor, and finally the rack, “Ah! Found it!” just before she opened the wardrobe and picked on something to be wear.”No thank you, and I can take care of myself okay”

“Yeah right,” Eunju just rolled her eyes, as usual. “Give the paper to the admin staff first and then they’ll help you from there”

“Got it,”

“And also—“. Both Areum and Eunju turned around, looking at each other. One held questions, and the other one held nothing but assumptions. “You have a tattoo?”

She quickly finished up her process of putting up the shirt, covering her side. “What else?”

“Oh— yeah, that's it, I guess” Eunju took the initiate to walk away; “Just do whatever you need to do, bye”

Leo looked around the living room, and only found Ravi on the couch, with his phone, looking bothered while texting furiously. Must be Eunju. Then he moved to the backyard, the empty backyard that started to have its grass turned into bushes. Should I or should I not clean it up?. As the answer was obvious to him, he then turned around and walked directly to the kitchen, where he could see a figure in an apron, battling with knife and pots. 

“What are you cooking?” Leo patted the guy’s back. “Hakyeon,”

“Food”. Tears, tears coming out of his eyes and even with the garlic on his hand being peeled, anyone could definitely tell that his cooking was a reason for him to cry. 

“You want me to help?” 

Hakyeon looked to the right, to where Leo was standing by that time. “taekwoon?”

“The dinner with Areum, was it a week ago? I didnt come home, remember?”

He just nodded, while letting Leo to continue and finished what he has started. Peeling garlics with the only knife he could find in the house. 

“Areum, Kyunggi and I stayed at my place for a night, that was what happened”. For Hakyeon, the garlic has stopped stinging his eyes, but then also for Leo, his eyes were immune to it. “Despites everything, She doesn't want me to know her current place, and it makes me crazy. But that is not all,”

Leo.

“It started to hurt when I realized that I’m still far from being seen by her” and it also started to hurt him again, when he accidentally cut his finger. 

“Ya! Jung Taekwoon you!!!” Hakyeon grabbed his hand and pulled him to the sink. Opening the tap, and with his own hand, washed the blood away with the most careful and gentle way.

The water was mixed with the little drop of the blood, and it kept the both of them in silence. As hakyeon reached for the ban aid on the shelves, Leo stayed with the flowing water and the dripping blood. “Now it's your turn. What bothers you?”

“You”. He came back, with the ban aid and it only took seconds for him to put it on the wounded finger. “You better be more careful, okay?”

“That went well, surprisingly…” She sat on the empty bench and took the first slurp of her bubble drink. “Now I just have to go back and— Ken??”

“Areum??” He was running, but then of course he had to turn around once the girl called him from behind. “What are you doing here??”

“I was taking care of some paper for the books, and about to go home, but what are you doing here?”

Ken’s shoulder was dropped, and so did his mind. “Seriously? Are we even friends?”. She just nodded, and waited for him to answer; “There, that tall gigantic building across us is the place where I came to get my economic degree, can you see? No? Well, that's okay, cause I’m already late”

“Ooh! Yes! Yes! Now I remember! hahahaa” She laughed, comfortably as she got up from the bench, “Hahaha! Happy studying! good luck!”

She waved him a goodbye, and it sets him assured. “You go home too! Don't get lost!”

******

“he got a point, I better go now before I forgot the way back home” Areum threw the plastic glass into the trash can right after she got up. “Fighting!” Before she left the place, she made sure to say that while her eyes were still on the building that Ken pointed out earlier. “More like, have fun— ah…”

Her steps were stopped by what was the sky doing to her, by the rain that slowly started to wash her skin.

She went back to the bench, that fortunately had some kind of roof above it. “It was as sunny as an egg and now?”

Water drops turned into a complete rain, which left her alone in the place. In the street, with only cars instead of bus or taxi went throughout it. 

Areum snuck her hand out, feeling the rain while waited for her thoughts conclude. “The closest bus stop is like there… but… If I run, then the papers will be wet… so I guess I can only wait for—“

“Why would they close the store today? the distance—“. As for Areum, there was someone who made her kept her hand out in the rain, while she turned her head away right after she knew who is the new stranger on the bench. “Areum,”

The rain invites her to come out and play, at least, that was what she liked to believe. She put down every sense that she had and stepped out of the dry ground, stepping in, to the puddled soil, as her head was also getting along with the rain that came right to her side. 

Running away, without the least chance of looking back.

“You can hate me later, but I don't want you to get sick,” He pulled her by the wrist, to his side, to his arms. Luckily, it was because either Areum hadn't moved her feet for that long and for that fast or just because he is a very fast catcher of her, they made it back to the empty bench and sat it with their two selves. “Really? That was the stupidest thing to do, coming from you”

She looked down at her feet, on her white shoes that has become sort of one with the ground. Hongbin. 

He grabbed the papers from her fist, and did his best to straighten it. “You said that if you run the papers will be wet,” After he did what he could, he put it down and gave it back to her. “You’re better than this”

“I am,”. 

Hongbin looked at her from the side, then to where her eyes were aiming, to the ground. He took off what he wore on the first layer, his hoodie, and of course, he gave it to the person who sat right next to him, only inches away from his waist. “Wait here,”. As Areum didn't even care about the warm clothe, he helped her to at least realizing it, by putting it on her. “5 minutes, okay? Wait here”. He ran off, brushing the rain and gone for a moment.

Three years ago.

“Your brother sounds like a very nice person” 

“He is,” Hongbin reclined to the slide and rest his head up to the sky, “Just hope that he would find a nice boyfriend…. Or… yeah, Hope he’ll find his happiness soon too”

Areum pushed herself so that the swing would work with her. “Too?”

“yes, too,” He smiled to himself, then to her. “I have found mine, remember?”

Her cheek was flushed with a rosy red sensation, and it was unavoidable. “Stop saying such a weird words”

He sat himself and then set his eyes on her and the swing. Because of how she unconsciously presented herself to him at that moment, he, too, he felt the same way as her, just by looking at her hair loosed in the air. “Fine, I'm starting to hate the cheesiness inside of me too, I’ll try to conceal it”. 

After a while, she jumped out of the swing and managed to stand gracefully “I’m a pro,”.

Hongbin just laughed, “Not really,” then got up from the slide, walking to her side and kneels. “You’re just lucky, that you didn't step on your untied shoelaces”. 

She looked down at him, in the most heartwarming way that she didn't even realize. He's back from above, how the uniform helped it to be shown, His hands, how it moved to tie her shoelaces, His nape, his hair, his head, his everything that made her come up with a conclusion; “You’re beautiful”.

They both were lost in whatever it was ; Areum had fallen to the ground first before Hongbin got to tilt his head up.

And so when she fell, she sat on the ground and had nowhere else to see but him, who, still on his knees, right in front of her. “Stop saying such a weird word,” He repeated what she had said to him, but with the additional of his own mind; “I would like to kiss you now and then, but then only if you ask me” He puffed an air, making her startled.

Areum froze in her place, but still had her eyes on him just like before.

“Lets go! We have plenty of homework's so we should go home early”. The thing about hongbin was that whenever he got up, he never forgot to leave his hands for her to hold onto. 

And in truth, it was the thing that she loved the most from him. 

“Was it more— more than five minutes?”. Hongbin had his hands on his knees while he tried his best to fix his breathing pace. He was drenched in both rain and sweat, and it happened simply because of one thing; “Please don't run around in the rain,” he said, as he gave her a white umbrella.

As the guy opened the umbrella for her, she brave herself to look at him in the eyes and said a word. “Hongbin,”

He has finished clicking the button, the umbrella went up and he gave it to her. “Yes?”

“I hate you”

Hongbin just paid her eyes with his for a second before looking away. “I know”

“No you don’t, you really don't know just how much I hate you,” He let his hand touched her’s, as it made her hand hold onto the umbrella. “I really, really hate you”

He was standing alone when he listened to her, he didn’t sit himself next to her not because he doesn't want to, but because deep down, he knew that he couldn’t. “It hurts to hear that, but knowing that it came from you, I mustve deserve it”.

Right before she came out of the supermarket, something told her to turn around and in result, Areum accidentally found herself a surprise. “Are you stalking me?!”

“Why can't I find you at school?” Unlike her, Hongbin was still in his uniform. “Where were you??”

She put down her grocery bag on the floor “My mom is sick, I have to take care of her”.

Hongbin lowered his hands and picked up the plastic bags, then hooked his arms on Areum’s, within steps, he led her to get out of the place. “Then you should've at least— ah, lets go!”

*****

“Mom, I’m back,” Areum opened the door and let Hongbin came in after her. “I brought a friend with me, we’re going to work on our homework after this, is that okay mom?”

“Oh, sure,” From behind of the wall a woman, who looked like an older version of Areum appeared. “Ah, Hello, I’m Areum’s mother, In na” Her face was pale, but she still managed to stand and greeted them. “Nice to meet you”

“I’m Hongbin, Dong Hongbin,” He bowed and helped Areum to put the groceries down, “It's a pleasure to meet you”.

Areum’s mother followed them from the back and then sat on one of the dining chairs. “It's okay, you guys can just work on the homework, I’ll prepare snacks or lets just see what we have”

“no, it's okay,” Hongbin bowed again to her, while Areum was busy turning on the stove and started to do something with it.

“Mom you should go back to your room, I’ll wrap your soup within minutes”. 

Hongbin just stood in between the mother and daughter, tried to nonchalantly blend himself with them. 

“I felt better, i told you, I only feel nauseous—“

“Mom,” For once, Areum turned her head and looked at her. “Wait in your room, okay?”

As her tones were stronger than the usual, she had no choice but to listen to her daughter. “Okay, if you need anything, just call me”

“What can I help you with?” With him standing next to her, and the air that touched her nape as he spoke, Areum almost jumped and knock her head onto the rather low cupboard. “So— sorry,”

“You shocked me! Don't do that again,” Areum shook her head then continue to stir the pot. “You can help with sitting on the chair and wait, how about that?”

Hongbin moved two feet away from her “or, I can also do dishes, you know” and stood himself in front of the pink rubber gloves, and the sink. “Leave this to me, okay?”

“Hmm… fine,”
“Do whatever you want”

******

“Ah, Let me grab the mop and I’ll clean your bathroom—“

“No, it's okay, I’ll do it later,” In na stopped her daughter from opening the door, “Areum,”

She turned around and faced her mother who was sitting on the bed, “Yes, mother?”

“Hongbin is a really nice guy, I can see it,” When she said it, she was about to chuckle as the face that Areum made was amusing; eyes and jaw dropped out of sense. “You should be more honest with him”

Areum just nodded while trying to keep her poker face. 

“What if I tell you that I would like to have a son like him?”

“You— you know what mom, bye, good bye,” The daughter turned around and open the door as soon as she heard her mother chuckling, “Aish, for god sake you just met him, mom”

“Exactly, I finally met him”

******

As soon as she came back to the kitchen, Hongbin already welcomed her with the empty sink. “Let me guess, your mom wants to have a son like me?”

“heh? you—“

“hahahaha, it's okay, just like what she said, you should be more honest with me” He took off the rubber gloves and put it back to where it belong then went back to grab his bag, and took out some papers. “So now, I think I need to help you with math and… English?”

“What do you like to drink? Orange juice? Apple juice?” Areum only left a sighed, then continue to placed herself in the kitchen, “Do you wanna stay until dinner?”. When she said it, her words were as soft as her hand.

He put the book and papers on the table, then turned his head to her, to her back that suddenly stiffen. “What did you just say?”

“Uhm? Orange juice or apple juice?”

The lies that she tried to put, it made him burst into laughs, “No, no, no, after that!”

Areum only stayed there, looking down at the counter, at the two empty glasses. “do— do you wanna stay until dinner—“

“Yes of course I would love too—“

“Hsssst!” His loud exclamation was toned down by Areum’s own hand, as she turned around and ran to covered Hongbin’s mouth, “Dont shout!”

Hongbin was trapped in between the back of the couch, and Areum’s hand as he sat helplessly on the floor. Behind her hand, his mouth was grinning widely and he couldn't help but to stay like that. “You know that your mom can easily misunderstand this situation, right?” he kissed her palm, making her jerk out of his front and so he found a space for him to sit properly. “There is still one hour until dinner, let me help you with your grades”. He reached for his paper again, then started to check on it, leaving Areum alone with her own thoughts. “hey? hello?”

“Oh! yes, sorry!”

******

“Areum,” 

As the dinner ended, Hongbin and Areum were busy with the little dishes they left. The dinner was fun, it revolved in how Areum was as a baby, a kid, and then 17 years old, self she was, and it amuses each three of them. Well of course, Hongbin felt the luckiest in there, as he finally got to grasp more about the girl that he adored, yet In Na the mother, was also felt like she gained a new family member. 

“What?” Areum looked put down her rubber gloves and wiped her hands, “Hongbin its almost eight, you should go home now”

“yes, I actually should” he too, he took off his gloves and changed places with Areum who has finished with her hands. “But I think I have loved you more than before”. Areum’s mom already went inside her room, and so there was nothing that could stop him from being that blunt. “Okay, I need to stop being too honest, it's dangerous” Hongbin only waved a hand at her then walked out of the kitchen, “good night!”

“wa— wait!”. Hongbin turned around for once more, just right before he left the house. “Ehm, this, this should be fine for breakfast”

Areum gave him a box of seasoned meat, the tasty dinner that they had earlier. “Why are you suddenly being so nice to me?”

She didn't say a word, and just opened his bag pack, putting the lunch box into it and then closed it again. “Good night,”

“Can I?”. Hongbin turned around and so she stopped facing his back“I can, can I? A no means a no, silence means yes”.

Her eyes were locked onto his, drowned in it, and she enjoyed the mute of herself right there. 

He leaned closer to her, and only parted his lips when it touched hers. Gently, he made sure to take care and cherish it. He let his hands tucked in his pocket, he let her to just tasted a bit of him.  And after he was sure of it, after he was sure of her, he slowly pulled out his neck and opened his eyes; “Listened to your mom, you should be more honest with me”

“But hongbin, what should I do when I just hate you so much?” Areum broke the silence in between the three of them, her, him, and the rain. “Avoiding you will be childish, but that's the only thing that I can come up with”

“If you really hate me that much,” he held her hand, the one that also holding the umbrella, “Then just erase me, completely” he made sure that she took a good grasped on it. “I’ll just come back as someone that you will not hate, and even better that you might love” 

In the rain that hadn't stopped pouring as hard as how it was started, Hongbin ran into it for the second time of the day and also walking away for that one last time for a day. 

******

To: taekwoonie~

Yaaa! Are you crazy?? Do you really go to Hongbin’s dorm and ask him to come back?? Are you stupid?? 

From: Hakyeon

He didn't open the messages and just let it appear on his screen.

To: taekwoonie~

Hey its even raining! Have you even brought an umbrella with you? Where are you? Should I pick you up?? 

From: Hakyeon

He didn't like it too, when he is told about the thing that was obvious. 

Then I should start to make you notice me, Just like how he was right there, standing alone, soaked, and didn't care about having his phone drenched in the rain because he only cared about the girl who started to cry after the white umbrella was given to her. Or even better, only look at me.

“You should've brought an umbrella with you!” Eunju opened the door for Areum, “And what took you so long?” and gave her a towel.

Areum used it well enough to make her almost dried hair stopped dripping, “Thank you, where is Kyunggi?”

“Just take a shower first, He’s with him right now”

“him??”. 

“Yes, me!” Both of the girls turned their head onto the guy who had a baby boy tangling on his chest. One of them, well of course, it was Areum, had her expression filled with surprises. “Noona, you better take a quick warm shower or you’ll get flu!”

“Hyu— Hyukkie?” Something about him made her stutter, something about how he dressed himself that day. “you…?”

“Starting today, I’ll be part timing in the bookstore”. And so she finally got the idea, “Noona I cant wait to work with you"