[160601. Updated]

You cried silently as you fell off from your pink bicycle, you tried to hold back your tears but the pain from your grazed knee prevented you from it. As you got up on your feet, you could hear someone running towards you. It was your brother and his friend; your brother kneeled in front of you and checked at your grazed knee. “you, does it hurt badly?” Hyuk placed his hands on your shoulders as he scanned if you had another bruise or cut somewhere.

You shook your head and rubbed the tears off your cheeks. “No...”  But your brother quickly stood and asked if his friend could keep you company while he calls for your mom or dad. Hearing that your brother leaving made you scared, you have never been alone outside more especially you have never been with someone else other than your family. “Oppa…” you clenched on your brother’s sleeve, signaling that he should stay but Hyuk didn’t understand. He smiled at you comfortingly and patted your hair gently.

“Don’t worry, oppa is just going to call mommy or daddy. You stay here with Hongbin-hyung. He’s a friend of mine.” Hyuk glanced at his friend then back to you. “I’ll come back as soon as I can.”

You watched as your brother sprint, just then your brother’s friend walked over to your fallen bicycle, brought it over to you and checked if it had any damages. You slowly took your steps since your grazed knee hurts every time you move it. “Is…my bike okay?”

“Yup. It looks fine to me.” He said, “how about you?”  He crouched and took a look at your knee. You turned your attention towards the boy, he looked harmless but you were still scared since he was a stranger and your brother always told you not to speak with strangers. But…oppa said that he’s a friend of his…

“It’s not that deep, I guess that’s okay.” He straightened his posture and stared at you for a time. After a while, he must have remembered something since he began pulling small items from his pockets. Keys, crumpled paper, coins and paper bills. When he finally found what he wanted, he offered it to you. You looked at it and glanced at him, asking if it was alright to have it. “Of course.” He smiled and that was the first time you ever saw someone with deep dimples. You smiled back as you took the lollipop from him.

“So what made you fall on your bike?” he asked, watching you try to take off the plastic wrapper from the lollipop. You mumbled but he didn’t hear it so you repeated it this time loudly.

“I saw…a cat…I thought I was going to hit it…”

“But you got hurt instead,” he said, pointing at your knee. You nodded and ignored your knee.

“I’m jealous…because all the other kids in my class knows how to bike…” your fingers fumbled on the wrapper. He chuckled and took the still wrapped lollipop from you and did the unwrapping for you.

“Thank you…oppa…” you mumbled. He smiled once more and sat on the concrete ground, he gestured for you to do the same and you did. You sat next to him leaving a large space between you. He laughed, something about it made him laugh and you don’t know what.

“Are you scared of me little Han?” he asked, tilting his head so he could get a better view of you. You shook your head and glanced away, avoiding his eyes completely. He scooted closer to you now leaving only a mere inch between you. You put the lollipop in your mouth, a sweet orange-y taste filled your taste buds. You smiled delighted of the lollipop. He took notice of it and smiled, showing the deep dimples he had again. “Hyukkie didn’t tell me that he has such a cute sister.” He said, staring at you.

You could feel your cheeks turning red; you instantly covered your face with your hands and bent down so he wouldn’t see you at all.

“Oh. you is something wrong? Are you hurt?” he quickly asked, worried that you might have felt something worse than your grazed knee.

“Nooo…” you mumbled.

“Then why are you hiding?” He gently pulled your hands away from your face and saw that you were blushing. He was quite taken aback since he hasn’t seen someone blush that hard. You pulled your hands away from him and quickly hid again, this time Hongbin let you hide. “Are you shy around me?” he asked. You answered with a simple nod, still hiding your face from him. It was a minute later when he spoke again. “You don’t need to be shy around me. I’m your brother’s friend. Just think of me like I’m another brother of yours.”

You moved a finger blocking your left eyes and sneaked a peek. You saw him watching you, waiting for you to remove your hands. He noticed you peeking and smiled. Another brother… You slowly lift your hands and stared at Hongbin. He was glad that you finally let him look at you.

Just then you heard your brother calling you, you looked to where his voice came from and saw he was with your mom. Your mother took a closer look at your wound and carried you. Your brother walked alongside his friend and the two kept chatting. Your eyes remained on his friend, you smiled when he smiled, and you pouted when he did. At times when he and your brother don’t talk, he would stare at you and give you a warm smile. At those times, you would hide under your mom. He would laugh at how you acted cute and shy. It was his first time seeing someone get flustered over him and he found it amusing.

By the time you reached home, you finished the lollipop, your brother and his friend went to Hyuk’s room and played while your mom quickly attended to your wound. It didn’t hurt that much anymore and when it was already bandaged you grabbed something from your room and knocked on your brother’s door.

“Oh. you, Hyukkie’s in the bathroom right now. Do you need anything?”

You extended your small arm and muttered, “Thank...you for the lollipop, Oppa.”

He opened his palm and you let the small item drop on his hand. He looked at it and smiled, amused at the item before him. “It’s cute. Is this mine?”

You nodded. He thanked you and said that he’ll keep it well. You ran back to your room since you were getting shy around him again. He laughed as he watched you ran away. He stared at the item on his palm for a long time; a pastel pink mini bearbrick pendant necklace.   

 The very next day, you and your brother went out to practice riding a bicycle. His friend also came, wearing the necklace you gave him. You were excited since he was there with you and your brother. It was also the same with your brother’s friend, he was excited to see you again.

“Really sorry for this, hyung.” Hyuk opened the door for his friend; Hongbin just smiled and carried you to her bed. He carefully lied her down on the bed and took a long relief of sigh when he let go of her.

“You weren’t kidding when you said she’s heavy.” Hongbin chuckled, evening his breathing.

“I told you. It was quite a shock when Taek-hyung said that she didn’t.”

you  had fell asleep once again on the couch waiting for her dad to come home. By the time, Hyuk finished reading the manga she brought for him, he headed downstairs and saw his sister sleeping on Hongbin’s lap. Hongbin didn’t mind since he was focused on watching TV. The two decided it would be better if they bring her to her room for her to sleep comfortably. It was the loser in paper-scissor-rocks who will carry her to bed, unfortunately it was Hongbin.

It was approximately half an hour before Hongbin and Hyuk have reached you’s room and a minute when they walked out of her room and head onto Hyuk’s. The two boys discussed about a game they had been currently addicted to which eventually led to them playing the said video game and weirdly a topic about you.

“Hyung, I think my sister has a crush on Taek-hyung.” Hyuk said, pressing down the Y button on his controller.

“Why’d you say that?”

“She acts different around that guy.” Hyuk muttered, “I don’t like it.”

Hongbin chuckled, pressing the A and B buttons. “Isn’t that normal for a girl her age, Hyukkie? I mean she’s already in the last year of her middle school life. She’s going to be a first year high school next year. It’s not impossible.”

“Ugh…my head’s going to explode because of that girl.” Hyuk moved his character forward, leading the game. “You do know that she was already asked by guys, right??”

“Calm down, Hyukkie.” Hongbin pressed buttons for a combo, successfully killing one of his attackers. “I know. I saw one.”

“See. It’s a good thing you doesn’t reciprocate any of those boys.”

“And if she did?”

“It’ll probably be the death of that guy.” The two boys laughed as they killed their opponent and advanced to the next round.

“What if one of those boys is someone you know?” Hongbin asked nonchalantly, tapping on the X button.  “Like a friend of yours or something.”

Hyuk laughed, “It depends on how well I know the person but I still won’t give in easily. This is my sister we’re talking about.”

“How about someone like me?”

Hyuk paused the game and turned to Hongbin. “What?” Hongbin laughed and hit Hyuk’s back and said that he was only joking and was curious to how his friend would react to it. Hongbin pressed the start button on Hyuk’s controller and continued playing.

“Ya. You’re going to die in the game if you keep staring at me like that.” Hongbin said, his eyes focused on the game.

“Oh.” Hyuk took one more glance at Hongbin and noticed he was wearing a necklace he had seen before returning with the game. Was Hyung really joking?? He gestured at the necklace and asked, changing their topic. “One of your fan girls gave that to you, hyung?” Hyuk laughed since Hongbin usually gets stuff from girls everywhere thanks to his good looks. Hyuk also receives some but not as many as his friend’s.

“What?” Hongbin looked at where Hyuk was pointing and saw it. “Ahh. This. It’s nothing.”

Hyuk pressed down combo buttons, “Then why wear it? It’s so not your style, hyung. Plus it’s pink.”

“So?” Hongbin said, killing another one. “Someone special gave it to me a long time ago.”

“Ohh. Really?” Hyuk chuckled. “A girl you like? Is she pretty? I bet she is.” Hongbin nodded. The two continued playing; it was only a minute before Hyuk spoke again. “This girl, do I know her? Do you still see each other? In a friend way or in the some way?”

Hongbin smirked, “I won’t answer any of those questions.”

“EIII. HYUNG IS SUCH A KILLJOY.” Hyuk pouted. 

“Aigoo. Hurry up, lil’ sis.” Hyuk leaned on the front door’s doorframe and raised his arm, staring at his wristwatch.

“YA! How about a little help, OPPA??” you panted as you ran around the house unprepared. At times like this you just want to hit your brother for not helping you. It was partly his fault that you woke up late, if he had not switched off your alarm you wouldn’t be running around like a crazy person inside your house. You grabbed your school blazer hanging on the couch and the toasted bread from your mom’s breakfast plate. “Sorry mom, no time for breakfast!” you didn’t wait for your mom to react and just hurried back to your room and snatched the books for today’s subjects.

You bit the toasted bread and kept it hanging as you ran down. By the time you got back in the living room, you slung your backpack on your shoulders and saw Hyuk already outside with Hongbin whom you always go to school with. Your mom walked up to you, telling you something but you ignored it since you were in a hurry. You dashed towards the front door and took your shoes from the rack. “I got to go now, mom. See you later,”

“Uhm, honey. You do know that—“ your mom was cut as you shut the door before her. Your mom shrugged, shaking her head and walked back to the kitchen. “You should have listened to me.”

You ran to catch up with the two boys who started walking toward the bus station. Tsk. These two… Hyuk and Hongbin were casually talking when you finally had gotten out. Hongbin greeted you, “Your hair’s a mess.” He fixed your hair and smiled once he was done. “There, you look good again.”

“Thanks, oppa.” You chewed the last bit of the toasted bread and glared at Hyuk, “I didn’t get to fix myself because of someone here.” Hyuk ignored you and casually walked with Hongbin. He nudged Hyuk on the chest and eyed him signaling your brother to say something. Hyuk sighed, stomping his feet on the ground like a child. “Fine.” He glanced at you and grinned, a menacing one. “I’ll tell you later.”

The three of you reached the bus station and waited for the bus to arrive. You stood in between the two boys and poked your brother, “So what were you supposed to say?”

Hyuk glanced at Hongbin and his smile came out again. The menacing one. He turned to you and said, “Have you noticed anything, you?”  You looked around but don’t see anything different. You shrugged and raised your arms in defeat. “No, I don’t.”

Hongbin chuckled, crossing his arms. “Hyuk, just tell her.”

“Tell me what?”

Hyuk laughed, covering his mouth. “We’re actually not late; I just adjusted the time on your clock so you’d be running around the house.”

“What? WHAAAAAT!?!?!!??!!” The bus arrived; Hongbin dragged you and your brother inside the bus. The three of you took the seat at the back of the bus; Hyuk couldn’t stop laughing, Hongbin took out his iPod and began listening to a playlist of his while you continued glaring at your brother.

I’ll definitely get back at you! You vowed silently. You leaned back on your seat and stared at the view outside. Just then, music filled your left ear. Hongbin had placed an earphone bud on your ear while the other one is on his, “Thought you might need something to cool down your head.”

You smiled and thanked him. The playing song was one of you and Hongbin’s favorite: Shine Your Light by Park Hyo Shin; the ride to school was quite peaceful after that. You got out of the bus at the third stop, two stops before Hyuk and Hongbin’s. You glanced at the window and laughed at the sight of Hyuk making faces and Hongbin pulling your brother away the window from the embarrassment he was causing. Even with you being angry at them well mostly at your brother, you knew you can never stay mad at them for a long time.

you sipped on the banana milk silently. Ah, what a beautiful day. You looked at the scenery before you; male students played soccer in the school’s field and some of the female students watched them. Others were in groups chatting while you sat alone at the school’s rooftop. It wasn’t because you don’t like people, it’s just because that you prefer to spend your lunch break alone drinking your favorite drink. Just then, your phone rang. Aigoo. Who could it be now? You pulled your smartphone from your pocket and sighed once you saw the name of the caller. You swiped the answer button, “I don’t have your homework, if that’s what you’re calling me for.”

“That’s a nice way to greet your brother.”

You laughed hearing your brother fake cry on the other line, “Yes because I love you that way. Now why are you calling me?”

“Binnie-hyung and I are hanging out later. Wanna come with us?”

“What’s the catch?” you sneered; your brother usually asks you out and you’d always answer yes except when you have other things to do but before giving him an answer you always have fun teasing Hyuk. You heard him grunt and a familiar laugh in the background. “Was that Hongbin-oppa?”

“Yeah.” Your brother handed the phone to Hongbin. “Hey so are you up for later?”

“Hi Hongbin-oppa.” You sipped your banana milk empty, “Sure. I’ll come with you.” you laughed again once you heard Hyuk bicker that you always side with Hongbin in the background. Just then, Minah, a friend of yours opened the door and called your attention.

“you, Lunch time is nearly over, let’s go!!” she ran over too your side and pulled you out from the floor. You said your goodbyes, hang up on your phone and walked alongside Minah. “Okay, okay. I’m coming.”

Minah is your best friend. You two met back in kindergarten and the two of you can never be separated since. It was still funny and interesting on how your friendship came to be; Minah was the new person in town and since you were being nice you introduced yourself first. At first, it was a funny friendship since you were the one who would always talk while Minah was the listener but then after a year, she would begin talking to you too and then the two of you would always stick together, sometimes the two of you would hang out with Hyuk but most of the time whenever you weren’t around with the boys, you were with Minah.

“Who were you talking to just now?” she asked as the two of you walked along the hallways.

“My brother.” You returned your phone back in your pocket. “He wants to meet up later.”

“Really…?” she shyly asked and you answering with a nod. The two of you reached your classroom and sat on your respective seats which were next to the window. You and Minah then began chatting about a famous café near your district and promised that you two would go there sometime within the week. After a while, your teacher arrived and started the lesson.

It only took three more hours when the bell rang indicating the end of the last period. You put your things back in your backpack and waited for Minah to fix hers but she told you to go ahead first since she still had to attend a club meeting of hers. “I guess I’ll get going then.” You headed out first and decided to call your brother since you didn’t know where to meet them; it took him three rings before he got to answer.

“Helloooo~”

“Oppa, where should I meet you?” you asked, regretting you called him since he was already standing by the school gate, waving at you. He ended the call and spread out his arms waiting for a hug. You giggled as you embraced him. Your brother wrapped his arms around you and squeezed you tightly. “You’re killing me here, oppa.”

“Sorry. I’m just excited to see my sister.” Hyuk let go of you and the two of you left. You rolled your eyes, you just saw me this morning, dummy.

“Oh, I thought Hongbin-oppa’s coming with us?” you looked around, searching for the said missing oppa. Hyuk nodded and answered your question that Hongbin was coming along. “Hyung is already at the café. So we’re just going to meet him there.” You two were supposed to take the bus but you told your brother that you should take the subway instead. Your brother shook off the idea but you insisted since the bus was the long way while the subway was the short one.

Hyuk looked worried, “How about we just take a cab instead?”

“It’s okay, oppa. I can handle this.” You smiled, reassuring him but your brother didn’t seem to like how you were lying. “I always tell you when I can’t, right?”

Your brother nodded. “Yes but—“

“Then I’ll be fine.” You said. Hyuk still didn’t like the idea because he doesn’t want you to have that kind of experience. Eventually, you finally convinced him. Once you arrived at the subway station, Hyuk held your hand and didn’t move away by your side as the two of you waited for the train. “you, are you sure about this? We could still back out on this.”

“Oppa. I’m fine.” You lied. You weren’t fine. Your heart was beating fast and you could feel your whole body shaking but you didn’t want your brother to worry and you didn’t want Hongbin to wait long for the two of you. This is just a subway…A subway…Oppa said it was only two stops away…Two…you can do this you! Your brother smiled, he knew you were lying but he didn’t show it. The train came; your brother looked at you one more time and led you inside the train once its doors opened. He held onto the railing and the other hand holding you, “You okay?”

You nodded. The train’s door closed and moved, you held unto your brother’s hand tightly and shut your eyes. Your brother tugged you closer, so you felt him standing close to you. “Just take deep and even breathings, you.” you felt beads of sweat forming on your temple; your brother constantly whispered soothing words, somehow it helped but not that much. You counted slowly as your heart pounded, your brother wrapped an arm around you and rubbed his hand slowly on your arm. “You’re doing fine.”

“Thanks….” You opened your eyes and looked at your brother. “Are…we there yet?”

Your brother shook his head, “We’re nearing the first stop. Do you want to get out?” you instantly shook you head, clenching your fists. “NO.” Just then, the train stopped and its doors opened. Passengers exited and entered the vehicle, the two of you didn’t move even when the train began moving again. Hyuk didn’t want this and he hated himself for allowing you to do such a thing; he wanted to punish himself for seeing you like that but you insisted on riding the train. He had wished he hadn’t agreed to it at all.

“Oppa.” You said, “Don’t blame yourself, okay? I wanted this… Think of it as a test for me…” Hyuk nodded and pulled you in further. You smiled uncomfortably and closed your eyes again. It was only a moment later when you finally arrived at your stop. Your brother kept his arm around you as the two of you walked out of the train. Once you were out, you let out a deep sigh of relief. Your brother sighed as well, “Well, we survived.”

“Yep.” You felt better since you were already out. Hyuk pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat off your face. Your brother tousled your hair and smiled, “There. You look like my weird sister again.”

“Aigoo—and here I was thinking you’ve become the nice brother.” Your breathings were now even and your heart slowed down. Hyuk chuckled, “I am a nice brother.”

You and Hyuk walked out of the subway station and went to the café where Hongbin was waiting. Hyuk mentioned that Hongbin got there ahead since he was going to buy something first. You and you brother finally arrived at the place and saw Hongbin immediately through the crowd. It wasn’t because he was standing out (that much) it was because he was sitting by the window and that he was the first person you would notice.

“Sorry we’re late, hyung.” Hyuk apologized as you two make your way to Hongbin’s table. Hongbin smiled and moved on the other chair, letting you sit next to him. “So where is he?”

“He’s at the counter taking his order.” Hongbin answered pointing at the counter.

“Who?” You asked, following Hongbin’s finger. You gasped as you saw the person he was pointing. You quickly looked down and elbowed Hongbin, “Why didn’t you tell me he was coming?!”

“I did.” Hongbin pushed your elbow away, “Last weekend. Didn’t I mention that we’ll be hanging out after school?”

And then it hit you. You have forgotten about it. You face palmed yourself and cursed silently. I could have brought it today!! You lifted your face away from your hands and saw him already sitting with you. “Nice to see you again, you,” Taekwoon gently lowered his head and greeted with his soft voice.