~💮~

It was dark and it was quiet… it even felt cold as Ren lied in his bed in his room with the covers over him. He just had no energy to get out of bed today. Summer Break was officially over now and Min Hee was gone. Ever since she left on Friday, he hasn’t been coming out of his room. He just lied in bed missing her. Minhyun tried to talk to him a few times, but he wouldn’t let anyone inside let alone reply to them. The other housemates were starting to get really worried.

“Ren, please come out.” His teacher Ms. Im said behind his door. Now that Summer was over school was back in session, that meant his home schooling was in session too. He didn’t reply to her, and he expected for her to go away after a while but she stayed. He could see her shadow at the door for the longest time and then he started to feel bad. It wasn’t like his homeschool teacher didn’t have other students to teach… was she going to cancel the other students sessions just because of him? Because of him… he didn’t want anyone to fall behind because of him, just like he didn’t want Min Hee to cry because of him.

He finally got out of bed and made his way to the door. He could see Nana(Ms. Im) sitting on the floor in front of his room with her chin resting on her knees. When she saw him open the door, she gave him a sweet smile and got up. “Ren, I’m happy to see you finally come out of your room.”

“I’m sorry, Ms. Im.” He apologized, his eyes casted down to the floor. “You should go, our session is already up by now.”

“No, that’s okay. Seungkwan’s mother texted me that he’s sick so we had to cancel. I don’t have any other sessions for the rest of the day either, so we can still do our session if you’re up to it?” Seeing the dejected look on his face, she figured that was a big no. “I heard what happened.” She said quietly, feeling bad for her student. “You miss her a lot, don’t you?”

“She was the only one who really accepted me for who I really am…” he mumbled, eyes still locked on the floor. He was feeling that heartache again.

“Aw, Ren.” She reached over to gently pat him on the shoulder. “Maybe she’ll come back and visit?” That should have cheered him up but it didn’t. “It’ll be okay.” She added but he wouldn’t look up no matter what she said. She could tell maybe Min Hee meant more to him than he originally thought and he was struggling because of that. “Okay, I’ll go for today.” Nana finally said. “Do you want me to come tomorrow?” Seeing him shake his head in reply really pulled at her heartstrings. He didn’t want to see anyone, not even her, his favorite teacher. “Alright, I’ll leave your assignments on the living room table for the week. Just take it easy until then. I’ll come back next week.” He briefly nodded before retreating back into his dark room and shut the door. Poor Ren… She thought before heading back into the living room. She pulled out the assignments she said she’d leave behind and placed them on the table. She left a note for his housemates about the stack of papers before leaving.

~💮~

Two weeks had passed by now since Min Hee left and Ren was still struggling on coping with it. Since she was the only one he ever really talked to and was comfortable around, it was hard to go to the dinner table where the other housemates were. Minhyun was trying his best to socialize with Ren, almost like taking Min Hee’s place but it wasn’t working like he hoped. Everyone was running out of ideas on what to do and worried since he seemed to be returning to the state he was in when he first arrived. All Min Hee’s progress was going down the drain, it was terrible.

“We have to bring her back.” Hana said with a determined look.

“That’s near impossible… there’s no way her parents are going to let her come back.” Aron shot down her comment instantly.

“We have to try!”

“Maybe we don’t need to bring her back.” JR spoke up. “One less mouth to feed.”

“Jonghyun, please… that’s mean.” Nari frowned, she wasn’t her usual energetic self today. Min Hee’s absence was affecting everyone, not only Ren.

“It hasn’t been that long… maybe she’s just getting settled at her new school and hasn’t had time to drop by?” Baekho tried to keep the atmosphere positive but everyone was just too down about it for it to work.

“You guys act like she died.” Sun Hee frowned.

“Well, she’s not here with us!” Aron pointed out.

“I hope her ghost comes back to haunt us.” Nari gave a sad smile. “At least she’d be with us again.”

“She hasn’t contacted any of you since she left?” Minhyun asked, steering away from such a dark topic. He had hoped she would have maintained some sort of contact with them, like a phone call or a few texts.

“I’ve been stalking her on facebook but she hasn’t logged in for a long time!” Hana said with a whine. “Did she give up socials, too?”

“Let’s just be patient… she’ll come around.” Minhyun stared at her contact info in his phone. Did you just leave us all behind for good?

~💮~

It had been a whole month now. There was still no contact from Min Hee and her friends started to really worry. As for Ren… he managed to come out of his room a few times to work on his assignments that had piled up. Luckily Nana was understanding of what he was going through, so she gave him extra time to finish them. The other housemates tried to help him with a few questions on his homework since he hadn’t been doing his sessions with Nana. The study guide she left behind was a little confusing so the girls offered to help him out which he appreciated. Baekho even helped since Minhyun was busy making dinner every night and JR was too cool to help with anything.

He had thought about asking Minhyun if he could help with dinner but always chickened out. He knew Minhyun would be nice about it if he were to mess up… though he liked helping Min Hee more. Everything was reminding him of her and he tried to pull through. He still hoped she’d contact them soon but realized he might have to move on and not get his hopes up too high. After a whole month he only started to notice how much he missed her and thought about her. Sure her friends were also missing her and thinking about her but he did it all the time. Probably more than them and he wondered if it was different in his case because she was his only real friend?

“Minhyun… can we talk?” Ren asked after setting the bin of dishes by the sink where Minhyun was currently washing other dishes that were used for tonights dinner. The latter looked over at him, surprised at the blonde’s question.

“Sure.” He nodded before turning off the sink. The dishes could wait. “What did you want to talk about?” He asked as he dried off his hands with a paper towel.

“You miss Min Hee too, right?” Ren asked with those sad eyes.

“I do.” Minhyun nodded.

“A lot… right?”

“... yes.”

“Does your heartache like mine when you think of her?” His voice was softer this time as he placed a hand over his beating heart.

“Ren…” Minhyun was worried now.

“When I look back on the time we spent together… I feel happy. But when I think about how she left I get really sad and want to cry.” He continued to explain, feeling that sting in the back of his eyes. “Is there something wrong with me? Why do I feel like this…? Am I the only one who feels like this?” He looked at Minhyun for an answer.

“I’m sorry, Ren.” Minhyun apologized, he felt so bad for him. “I didn’t know that’s how you’ve been feeling all this time.”

“I keep waiting for her to come to my room like she always did… I keep hoping that when I come out for dinner, she’ll be sitting at the table waiting for me. I keep waiting for her…”

“Ren… did you perhaps like Min Hee?”

“Of course I liked her, she’s my friend.” Ren was confused by Minhyun’s question. The older laughed before thinking of a different way to word it.

“No, I mean… did you like Min Hee like your mother liked your father before they got married?”

Ren was quiet as he looked surprised at the new question. Did he like Min Hee in a romantic way? Did I? Is that why I feel like this? He thought to himself. He always thought she was beautiful and he always got nervous when he was around her, but he just thought that was normal, something you experience when you make new friends who are the opposite gender. But he never felt like that towards the other female housemates…

“Or did you fall in love?” Minhyun interrupted his thoughts.

“Love…?” Ren repeated. Could he say he loved Min Hee? She always brightened his day when she was here. Just thinking about her was enough to put a smile on his face. She was the only one he ever wanted to be around, he liked her company and always felt accepted and safe when she’d give him a hug.

Now that he thought about it… he missed her touch. The times she held his hand when they were walking through the crowds, the tight hug she gave him when he was scared… the hug he gave her when she fought with her mother… the hug he gave her before she left the boarding house. He never wanted to let her go, but he had to.

Min Hee brightened his dark world after such a long time. It was probably the best thing that ever happened to him, she made him so happy but now that she left, the light was gone and everything was dark again. He was alone again despite living with six other housemates. This was his reality again and he was going to have to accept it sooner or later. She isn’t coming back, is she? And that thought alone was enough to cause his tears to fall.

~💮~

Two weeks later…

“Oppa~!” Little Minnie rushed up to her older brother when he came home to visit. It had been a long time since Ren saw his little sister, he noticed she had gotten bigger since he left for the boarding house pretty much six months ago. Half a year. Wow… time sure did fly, didn’t it?!

“Minnie!” Ren scooped her up into his arms with a bright smile. Seeing his little sister was enough to brighten his day today. His older brother Minseok joined them at the door.

“Looks like the boarding house is doing you some good!” His brother beamed and Ren couldn’t help but frown at that. Why does everyone want to change me so badly… Min Hee was the only one who told him that he didn’t have to change. Why couldn’t they be more like her?

Ignoring that, he was able to catch up with his siblings for a few minutes before his mother came down, she looked to be doing better than when he last saw her. She smiled at him weakly and commented on how she really missed him. He gave her a gentle hug, telling her he missed her, too.

“Tell us how it’s been at the boarding house?” She asked looking highly interested. Surely if things weren’t going well he’d have come home a long time ago.

Ren hesitated. He wanted to say things were going great because they were but… “Something wrong?” His brother noticed his dejected expression suddenly after their mother asked that question.

“Well…” he started off, “things went well at first.”

“At first?” His mother tilted her head in confusion. “Did something happen?”

“There was this girl.” Ren explained. “Min Hee… she was really nice and accepting. I got along with her better than the rest of the house. We became really good friends but… she was having issues with her parents and she had to leave the boarding home. I was really upset.”

“Awh, Minki!”

“Oppa, are you okay?!” His sister came over to hold his hand, looking up at him with those sad eyes. He only gave her a weak smile and squeezed her hand in reply.

“Why did she have to leave?” Minseok asked, obviously curious and of course they were going to be curious. Ren wasn’t someone who made friends easily so for his friend to leave like that was a big deal.

“If I can be honest, her parents are really selfish and greedy.” He muttered, the anger inside building up again. “They wanted her to go to this elite all girls school but she didn’t want to go. They wouldn’t listen to her, so she tried to sabotage her own grades to stop her from getting into the school since she’s a student with perfect grades and record. They got mad and made her leave the home. She told me that success seems to be all they want. If she’s not successful, they’re not happy.”

“Really? Sheesh, what kind of parent is that to pressure your child like that?” Minseok was appalled by the short story. Their poor sister didn’t know what they were talking about but she could tell everyone wasn’t in a good mood now.

“And that made you upset because?” Their mother asked.

“I really liked her…” he said softly. “She made me feel accepted and happy. Now that she’s gone I feel empty.”

It was clear that Ren had fallen in love with this girl named Min Hee, he looked so sad and heart broken! His family didn’t expect him to fall in love with someone in the home, they honestly didn’t think he was going to make friends, let alone last this long either, but that was probably why he got this far in the first place.

After a short while of thinking about it… “If success is all her mother wants… why don't we give it to her?” His mother broke the silence.

“What do you mean?” Ren was confused, not entirely sure what his mother was getting at.

“Our family is also a successful family. I'm sure her parents would be thrilled if we were to merge our success together?”

“Eomma, I don't understand what you're trying to say?”

“If you really love this girl, Minki… marry her.”

His eyes went huge. Marriage?! “You want me to marry her?”

“If you don't feel that strongly about her, then don't.” She chuckled. “But if you do… go find her and talk to her. I'll handle it from there after you get an answer, okay?”

“Eomma…”

“You can make the promise… and when you both finish school, you can have the wedding.”

He didn’t expect it to be like this… Marriage? He thought. Never being in a proper relationship before, he wasn’t sure what to think about it. It wasn’t like he didn’t like the idea, he just thought maybe that was too soon? 6 months was a long time… but he never told her how he’s been feeling. What if she didn’t feel the same way? He was definitely going to have to talk to Minhyun about this again, he seemed to know more about his feeling for Min Hee than he did himself!

“Oppa!” Suddenly his sister’s voice interrupted his thoughts. When he looked up, Minseok was helping their mother out of the room and Min was standing by his seat. “Mommy wasn’t feeling good so she had to go back to bed.”

“Oh…” he nodded in understanding before he sighed, feeling bad for his mother. He wondered if she’d ever get better? “So, how have you been doing, Minnie? Have you been behaving for Minseok and the nannies?”

“Yes!” She nodded with a bright smile.

“I’m glad.” Her smile was able to bring a genuine smile to his own lips. “I missed you a lot.” He pulled her close to his side to give her a small hug.

“I missed you too, Oppa! Did you bring Chucky with you?”

“Oh, actually, I forgot!” He gasped. How could I forget Chucky?!

“Uh oh! I hope he won’t be mad when you get home!” His sister also looked worried and it made him laugh, she was so cute.

“I’m sure he’ll forgive me, don’t worry.”

“Be sure to bring him next time, we’ll have cake and tea!” She cheered excitedly and he nodded in agreement. He would definitely come back soon.

~💮~

“Marriage?!” Minhyun almost shouted and Ren had to shush him, worried about the others hearing. They were in his room later that evening, but that didn’t mean his walls were sound proof! “Marriage?!” He whispered this time, earning a small laugh from Ren.

“It sounds crazy, I know!” He said while sitting against the wall next to him. “I was surprised, too. I have no idea what all this love and marriage stuff is about. I just wanted to be by Min Hee’s side, that’s all I want…”

“So you don’t like her like that?”

“I don’t understand, remember…”

“Have you read love stories before? Have you watched any romance in movies or on TV?” Minhyun was honestly really curious now. Did he misunderstand Ren’s feelings? Perhaps he only cared for Min Hee greatly without romantic intentions…

“... I liked holding her hand.” Ren admitted. “I liked it when she hugged me…”

But those were so harmless! Gentle acts of affection… that didn’t necessarily mean it meant anything romantic. Perhaps Minhyun had gotten ahead of himself simply because Ren is a boy and Min Hee is a girl. There weren’t many friends who were the opposite gender of each other and never ended up together. It was rare. But it was possible, right? Minhyun was like Min Hee’s best friend but he didn’t see her like that. He actually has a crush on a girl in his class… named Ji Hye.

“Did you ever want to kiss her?” Minhyun boldly asked. This would determine if Ren’s feelings were romantic or not.

“Uh…” he stuttered, but of course he would! Anyone would suddenly get nervous at the thought but now that Minhyun brought it up, he might have thought about it once or twice. “When she was crying…” he said quietly.

“When she was crying?!”

“Is that weird?!” Ren frowned. “Does that make me strange?!”

“No, I didn’t mean it like that… usually that’s really sweet! Kiss her tears away and touch her heart… wow Ren, I never thought you were such a deep person!”

“You said all of that, not me!” The blonde blushed a million shades of red. The light in his room was on for once since he knew Minhyun wasn’t phased by his scary decorations… the older could totally see his beet red face.

“Then here’s another question I’d like to ask…” Minhyun said with a soft smile. “Would you be bothered if she had a boyfriend who likes to hold her hand and hug her, even kiss her a lot… would you be bothered by that?” He could see Ren’s flustered state dissipate quickly into a look of confusion before it faded into a hurt look.

“But she doesn’t, right?” Did Minhyun know something he didn’t?

“You didn’t answer my question.” He simply replied.

Ren didn’t say anything and looked forward with that expected bothered look. He couldn’t imagine Min Hee liking someone else. Even if he never thought about it before, thinking about it now made his heart ache in a different way. “No, she doesn’t, not that I know of. I just asked and it’s clear that you would be bothered. So you really do like her, Ren.” Minhyun grinned.

He knew the older didn’t mean to upset him like that on purpose but… “Don’t do that again.” He pouted.

“Of course!” He laughed. “Was just trying to get you to understand your feelings.” He gave him a pat on the back. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go start dinner.”

“... can I help?”

“Sure! I’d be happy if you did!” Minhyun looked overjoyed. I’ll take it from here, Min Hee. He thought happily. Ren seemed to be more comfortable around Minhyun now, just like he was with Min Hee.

Ren mentioned he’d meet Minhyun in the kitchen in a few minutes since he wanted to do something first. The older agreed and left him in his still lit room and shut the door behind him on his way out.

“That guy…” he mumbled before looking to Chucky sitting in the corner. “You heard that right, Chucky? You heard all of that?” Silence. “What a jerk.” He scoffed before laughing at himself for getting worked up about it. “He’s right though… I really do like her, don’t I?” More silence. “Did you like her, too?” … “Yah, I thought we were friends?!” He frowned at his doll’s non-existent reply.

~💮~

Two weeks later…

As time passed, it was getting easier to go on about daily tasks, but Ren still couldn’t help but think of Min Hee ever now and then. He really wanted to know what happened to her… no one else has heard anything about her since she left, either. He tried not to think negatively but it just happens. He was trying to be strong about it all.

He was getting along better with the other housemates, too. He didn’t spend a lot of time with them yet but enough to be considerably closer to them, everyone but JR. He swore that guy was just a jerk by heart… but it was interesting to see how he acts differently around Nari. He had started to observe the other housemates and soon concluded that JR liked Nari and Aron had a thing for Hana… Baekho and Sun Hee were an item? He was really learning a lot from them about the concept of love.

No one knew when Min Hee would ever come back or get into contact with them, so Ren thought it’d be best that he focused on his studies a bit more. He didn’t want it to start affecting his grades, not like it’d really matter but he was also a good student… if anything he wanted to keep it up for to make her proud because he did believe one day they’d meet again. He was really waiting for that day.

~💮~

Today was Friday and Ren’s birthday, November 3rd, as he sat at the table near the back of the library with a few books stacked around him. He had a homework assignment that required him to get some books from the library. Nana told him he could get them online but he chose to come out to the library instead. He wanted to leave the house more at least. Being here reminded him of the time he picked Min Hee up from the library months ago and he caught her sleeping at the very table he was sitting at. He remembered how cute she looked and how peaceful her breathing was.

I really wish she was here with me now…

Was the wish he made earlier when he blew the candles out on his birthday cake. He celebrated with the others shortly before coming here and it was fun, but given the kind of person he still was, he decided to end the party early and get some homework done. ‘What a boring person!’ they had teased but they at least looked slightly understanding. He was sure they continued the party after he left so it didn’t matter anyway. Honestly, I didn’t feel as fun since Min Hee wasn’t there. He was sure it would have been amazing if she was there.

If I could just see you for a minute, I’d be so happy...

“Ren?” He heard her voice and stilled. Was that really her talking right now or was he imagining things again? Slowly he turned his head to see Min Hee standing there, her school bag hanging off her shoulders while she gawked at him like he was some celebrity idol. “Is that really you, Ren?” She asked while getting closer to the table. He mirrored her expression as well, completely surprised!

He was not prepared for this moment at all, especially after thinking about her just now! “Min Hee…” he stood up to face her. After almost three months, they finally meet again. He was caught off guard when she tackled him with a hug, exclaiming how happy she was to see him. Then she apologized.

“My parents confiscated my old phone and replaced it with a new one with no other contacts besides them. They said it's to help me focus.” She rolled her eyes as she explained. “I have to turn it in at night and they check the data and wifi usage, make sure I didn't download any social apps and remove them… paranoid things. The wifi password is locked and they took my laptop and replaced it with one that has a parental lock on it. I can only use the Internet at certain times and all social websites are blocked. They're really punishing me for messing up my grades.” She sighed with her eyes casted down. “That's why I hadn't been in contact these past two months.

Ren stood there trying to absorb everything she just said.

“I was always hoping I'd run into one of you while I'm in the city, but our paths just never crossed until now.”

“Ah…” he frowned. “I don't usually come out. I just needed some books for homework and so I came here since I remember you used to study here.”

“I still study here.” She smiled.

“You do?”

“I do, Monday through Friday after school.” She explained. “You know, maybe you should study here, too?” She smiled sweetly at him. “Particularly Monday through Friday from 4-6pm.” She could see him smile the smile she adored when she used to live at the boarding house. She missed it a lot. “Or you can just pass by and say Hi.”

“No, I think I'll start to study here.” He shook his head. He knew she must have been thinking about his social anxiety. “I can handle it, because you're here.”

“I’m glad.” She gave him a bright smile.

The two took a seat at the table, just like last time and did a little catching up with each other. Unfortunately they lost track of time and now she had to head home. It felt so unfair and Ren couldn't help but get upset. What if he never saw her again?

“I’ll be here on Monday.” She assured him. “Don’t be sad.”

“Sorry…” he apologized, he didn’t mean to be that obvious.

“It’s okay, don’t worry.”

“Then I’ll see you Monday.” He looked up to say goodbye and saw her just smiling over at him with that beautiful smile he loved so much. He couldn’t help but stand there and stare at her in awe.

“I’ll see you Monday.” She nodded before taking a step closer and gave him a kiss on his cheek. “By the way, Happy Birthday, Ren!”

He looked at her with wide eyes, stunned at her small gesture. Did that really just happen? Slowly he rested his hand over the place her lips touched his cheek, his face felt like it was going to melt off and his heart was racing. She remembered my birthday? “T-Thank you.” He managed to get out.

“Go home and celebrate some more since I can’t be there.” She gave a sad smile. “I’ll bring you a better present on Monday!” She added before waving and turned away.

“O-Okay.” He said while watching her walk away. Once she was gone a smile spread across his lips and he looked away with a small laugh. What a surprise!

Shortly after, he gathered the books he needed and left the library. When he got home he went straight to his room to tell Chucky about his surprise encounter with the girl he missed so much. He was still in a state of shock and his cheeks were still burning from the sudden kiss she gave to his cheek before she left. Touching the spot she kissed, he slowly brought his fingertips to his lips and felt butterflies in his stomach just then.

“Ren?” Minhyun asked at the doorway and that startled him. He jumped with a small shriek and looked over at the door with a frown.

“Please knock before coming in here!”

“Sorry~!” The older laughed before coming inside. “You just came straight back here, is something wrong?”

“N-No.”

“Oh, you seem flustered… why?”

“Uh…” he wasn’t sure if she should tell him he ran into Min Hee or not. He was sure everyone would pester him with questions if he did. And for a second he wanted to be a little selfish and keep it a secret. “I read something weird!” He said quickly, hoping it wouldn’t sound like a flat up lie.

“Oh really, what did you read?” Of course he’d ask further questions!

“I don’t remember what it was…”

“Ren?” Minhyun chuckled, looking a tad confused. He stopped replying and eventually Minhyun took the hint he wasn’t going to talk about it. “Okay,” he held his hands up like he was dropping the questions, “dinner’s ready. Will you join us?”

“Yes.” Ren nodded a little more calm by now.

“Great! Want to bring Chucky, I made him a serving too!”

“You did?” Ren stared at him before another smile spread across his lips. “Chucky would love to come eat with us!”

When they made it to the table, both Nari and Hana ran away screaming.

Chapter seven!

HIIII LONG TIME NO SEEEEEEEE HAHAHA

Sorry for taking so long, I feel so bad… I meant to update this fic sooner but I was busy with other fics as well as stuff in real life…. I hope I can post another chapter real soon~!

I don’t want to neglect this story too much XD it’s too cute!

Ren is super cute here and I really like it compared to my other Rens in other stories.

I wanna finish this story, so I’ll do my best!!!

Please have patience with me~! <3

Until next time!

Edit: The characters Norin, Hyori and Seoyun have been changed to Nari, Hana and Sun Hee due to a mistake I made when I first started this fic. They were names of OCs a friend used when we collabed together before and I thought it'd be okay to use them but after some time that doesn't seem to be the case now.

Sorry for any confusion!