“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Ren asked as he and Soo Min were entering a small shop in the city. They had left the campus shortly after their small talk at the cafe. “Should you be cutting class?” He added. He didn’t have class on Mondays and typically went to campus to see his friends, but he wasn’t so sure about Soo Min. He didn’t want to be an enabler to bad habits.

 

“This isn’t the first time I cut class.” She chuckled at his nagging. She supposed everyone was like that to some degree, worried for others when it came to stuff like that. “Besides…aren’t you having fun?” She asked and reached up to put a stylish sun hat on his head with a huge pink feather on it. “You think the paparazzi would be fooled and think you’re a bird now?” She grinned and he just laughed.

 

“Maybe.” He said before grabbing a snapback and placed it on her head with the bill forward before he turned it around to the back. “It looks good.” He gave a thumbs up and pointed at the mirror nearby. They both walked over to look at themselves and laugh at how ridiculous it looked. They switched hats and laughed again… this moment felt really special just then and they took a second to cherish it. “We need some shades to go with it.” He suggested and pulled her by the hand to the large selection. He was more comfortable around her and was now treating her like a close friend, a close person. And it was coming to them naturally.

 

They picked out a pair for each other and once again laughed at how ridiculous their choices were. And they went with it. Ren bought the items with his card after he offered and Soo Min let him do it. They left the store with their new get up, Ren was wearing the snapback and Soo Min was wearing the sunhat while Ren wore the diva shades and Soo Min wore the shades that were shaped as stars. See if the paparazzi can catch them now! “, it’s them.” Ren muttered and took Soo Min by the hand once again before dragging her around a corner to hide.

 

“You mean they still recognize you even when you're in disguise?” She joked. She knew that a snapback and shades wouldn’t do much anyway but it was fun to shop for it. She’s always hated shopping, unless it was for her boyfriend or for her friends, or food.

 

“Just give me a second.” He said while letting go of her hand and took off his backpack before taking off his stylish coat. He was wearing a nice designer t-shirt underneath, but it probably wasn’t something that would give his identity away. He stuffed his coat into his bag while muttering how sorry he was for wrinkling it, like the coat had feelings. She laughed at that and watched him zip up his bag before grabbing something out of the side pocket and took off the snapback. He proceeded to tie up his hair into a messy ponytail and then threaded it through the small opening in the back of the snapback. “Here.” He handed her a hair tie as well. “Our long straight black hair seems to be what gives it away.” He added with a small chuckle.

 

“Oh, right.” She nodded before taking the hair tie and tried to tie up her own hair but she struggled. “I’m sorry, I can’t do it.” She frowned and rubbed her sore shoulder. “I have noodle arms.”

 

“That’s okay, I’ll do it.” He took the hair tie from her and started to pull her hair back. He ended up doing a quick braid that would hang off of her shoulder so it would suit the hat she was wearing. It felt weird since the only people who really touched her hair was Won Woo and Jeonghan. Her mother used to years ago when she was younger but not anymore obviously. “Let’s go.” He said after finishing her hair.  

 

They walked right past the paparazzi and went completely unnoticed! “Wow, it worked!” She wanted to laugh. Maybe it really was their hair that gave it away before?

 

“They’re so stupid sometimes.” Ren chuckled before he led her to a food joint. “Are you hungry?”

 

“Yes.” She nodded and her sunhat hit his shoulder and almost fell off.

 

“Careful!” He stopped her hat from falling off and she giggled.

 

“This has been really fun despite we didn’t do much.” She admitted while they were waiting in line.

 

“I didn’t expect to have this much fun, either. Usually my Mondays are so long and boring.” Ren said before stepping forward when the line moved up. Just then, an elder asked if she could pass through since the line was longer than usual and it was blocking the dining area. “Sorry.” Ren apologized and stepped back and pulled Soo Min back a bit by the hand.

 

“Thank you, dear.” The elder smiled. “You and your sister are just adorable, by the way!” She added on and looked awestruck. He was tall and she was short, the elder must’ve thought he was taking his little sister out to eat and had a hold on her hand so she wouldn’t get lost or try to run off.

 

“Thanks.” Ren kindly replied and didn’t correct the woman. He didn’t feel like he should waste their time correcting her, let alone, what would he say to correct it? “I think she’s my sister…”

 

She thanked them once more and headed on her way.

 

“Does she think I’m a little kid or something?” Soo Min muttered once she was gone.

 

“Maybe, because you’re so short.” Ren chuckled before the line moved up again.

 

“Again, not my fault!” She pouted before she sighed. “You know, your mother mistook me as you last Thursday when I was at the mall. She must think you're short, too.”

 

“Really?” He was a bit caught off guard when she mentioned his adoptive mother.

 

“Yeah… and she knew my name before I could even introduce myself.” She added. She could feel Ren’s hand squeeze hers just a bit and she was a bit surprised, she hadn’t noticed he was still holding her hand. When she looked up she could see he seemed a little speechless. “What’s wrong?”

 

“Nothing.” He snapped out of it and gave her a weak smile. “What did you want to eat?” He changed the topic now that they were CLOSER to the register, the menu was more visible now.

 

…

 

Mingyu: You’re not at school today? :(

Mingyu: Are you not feeling well today?

Mingyu: Is something wrong? Are you busy?

Mingyu: Won Woo?

 

Won Woo finally woke up when he heard his phone buzzing on his night stand. Someone was calling for the last five minutes on and off. He groaned and rolled over to grab his phone and answered it. “Whaaat?” He asked. He had expected it to be Soo Min or maybe Jihoon...

 

“Were you sleeping?!” He heard Mingyu ask in shock. “No wonder you weren’t replying to my texts!”

 

“Oh!” Won Woo sat up quickly and looked for the time 2:43pm. “… , , , !” Maybe he did think of ditching school today, but he really didn’t mean to since he was supposed to make sure he wouldn’t have too much homework before he left for L.A.

 

“I guess you accidentally slept in?” He could hear Mingyu laughing on the other line.

 

“I’m too late!” Won Woo fell back into bed.

 

“Don’t worry about it, I’m sure you didn’t miss too much.” Mingyu tried to say positively but he couldn’t be so sure since midterms were coming up, so that meant the workload was going to be a little heavier around this time.

 

“Yeah… I’ll be fine. I think.” Won Woo sighed and covered his eyes with his arm so he could calm down from getting stressed out.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“I’m fine.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

Won Woo was quiet for a moment before he sighed again. “Can we meet up?”

 

“Sure.”

 

...

 

Soo Min and Ren spent most of their time at the restaurant eating and getting to know each other. They asked each other those trivial things like what their favorite color was, their favorite food, favorite movie and again, favorite Lady Gaga song.

 

“I like G.U.Y.” She said before taking a sip of her soda.

 

“Really? Why?” He asked curiously.

 

“Well, I suppose because I think it’s silly that I act more like a guy than a girl in some cases.” She explained with a sheepish smile when he looked confused. “I think men’s clothing are more comfortable, I really hate skirts and dresses, I don’t wear makeup, I hardly ever do anything with my hair, I could care less about what most girls care about. I grew up around boys, my best friend is a guy, my other friends are guys… just guys everywhere.” She laughed. “And my relationship with my boyfriend is pretty different from my first relationship. I was the submissive girlfriend who didn’t get to do anything while my boyfriend did everything… but then we broke up and when I met Jeonghan, things were different. I do more than he does and it makes me wonder if I’m the boyfriend and he’s the girlfriend?”

 

“That sounds really cute.” Ren smiled.

 

“To be honest, our relationship is more equal. We both do things for each other and don’t go by the cliché things people say about relationships. I feel like that’s how all relationships should be.”

 

“I agree. It’s a bit off and on for me and my boyfriend, though.” Ren said before he noticed her curious expression. “What?”

 

“Nothing! I just wasn’t expecting you to have one because you’re so famous and all!” He could tell she was teasing just a bit and he pouted.

 

“Well, I do! You saw him at the table earlier, the blonde one, Minhyun.”

 

“Oooh~!” She was surprised and thought back on that day she bumped into the blonde when she got lost. “Oh, you’re Miss Little GaGa. It’s nice to meet you, I’m Minhyun. I should really help you out now.” It was probably because of Ren that he was so insistent on helping her.

 

“He told me about you getting lost a few days ago… you really should be careful!” He scolded and she sighed with a hint of laughter. “He said you two bumped into Mingyu and he thought he was your boyfriend.”

 

“I guess because he noticed I was holding hands with your boyfriend and got the wrong idea.” She said with a sheepish smile. “You and Minhyun seem to like holding hands!” She pointed out and he gave small laugh, he knew she was referring when he held her hand a couple of times today. “You must be one of those touchy kind of people?”

 

“I guess. But it depends on who it is.” He explained.

 

“Ah, then… why…?” She gestured between them.

 

“I just got comfortable around you real quick, sorry.”

 

“No, it’s fine.” She assured him. “I know what that’s like, though I don’t do it that often, but yeah, it was probably because Mingyu didn’t look so approving about me holding Minhyun’s hand since he knows and is friends with my boyfriend, Jeonghan.”

 

“He’s just looking out for his friend, huh?”

 

“Yes.” She nodded. “But I was slightly disappointed because actually, Mingyu has his eyes set on Won Woo. So being mistaken as my boyfriend was like a slap to my face and my poor fangirl heart. It should be Won Woo, not me!”

 

“Oh, so they like each other?” Ren was interested to know more about Won Woo as well, but it was hard to bring it up so he was glad it turned out this way.

 

“Pretty much, but Won Woo is really shy about it.” She sighed. “Mingyu’s playing the waiting game, but not sure how long it will last. I worry a lot about it since I just want Won Woo to have a chance at being loved, too. I know it’s not easy for gay men to find their true love because not everyone is the same and not everyone supports it.” Ren nodded in understanding. “Some day he will have a boyfriend and we’ll go on a double date!” She suddenly gushed and Ren laughed at her sudden change in expression.

 

“Double dates sound fun. My friends are still single after all this time, I’m starting to lose hope for them.” He let out a deep sigh.

 

“Awh, maybe they’re just not interested?”

 

“Well, Beakho’s priority it to protect me ever since he was appointed as my bodyguard when I moved to Seoul, so he probably doesn’t have time for dating. JR doesn’t like going out that much and isn’t a very open person either so I bet it would be hard for him. And Aron, well I could care less if he scored a date or not.” He snickered when he mentioned his friend.

 

“Are you still mad about the dog incident or something?” She frowned.

 

“Maybe, and besides that, he’s just that one friend you have a love/hate relationship with. He gets on my nerves, but then he’s also there for me when I need it.”

 

“Awwwwh.” She cooed and he realized maybe he gave her too much info now that he recalled her saying she had a fangirl heart. She was probably going to fangirl over their friendship now. Speaking of friendships…

 

“How’s Jihoon?” He suddenly asked.

 

“Oh?!” She seemed caught off guard when he mentioned that name. “Uh, he’s doing good.” She managed to say. It was clear that maybe Jihoon told her about him after he tried to call her last week.

 

He called the number she had left him, and she answered. He had written out a few things to say to her on the phone, like where they could meet up to talk, but once he heard her voice on the other line, he just froze and couldn’t say anything. He got choked up with tears all of a sudden, too. He wasn’t sure why and then hung up because there was no way he was going to be able to speak clearly now. Moments later, she called him back, but he didn’t answer and let it go to voicemail. When he checked it, he was shocked to hear Jihoon’s voice, because even after 5 years, he too, could still recognize his former best friend’s voice. He cried a second time after that before he called Aron.

 

“Does he hate me?” Ren didn’t hesitate to ask.

 

“I’m not sure how to answer that.” She frowned. “I’m sorry. I’ll be honest and say that he did talk to me about you, but I’m not sure if it’s my place to say much. I feel like you two should really sit down and talk face to face…” she trailed off before she sighed like she just got irritated. “Where have I heard that set of words before, huh?” She snickered before noticing Ren looked confused and worried. “It was something my cousin told me before… and I was so mad, but here I am, repeating similar words to you. Maybe I understand now, but it’s frustrating.”

 

“What did your cousin say?” He asked before he covered his mouth. “Sorry, I don’t mean to pry.”

 

“It’s fine.” She shook her head. “Well, I guess it’s good to vent, right?” She asked and he nodded. “My cousin knows something about my parents. There was an affair but he said it wasn’t his place to tell me about it, and it’s been bothering me a lot, because I don’t know who it was… if it was my mother or my father. It would just be better if he could tell me, but he wouldn’t.”

 

In that moment, Ren felt his heart sink in a strange way. So, it’s definitely her. That gut feeling he had before felt even more intense now. That strange connection he’s had with her was becoming less strange now and he was understanding it more. It has to be. There’s no doubt in my mind that she really is the half sister I learned about… When Soo Min said his adoptive mother knew her name before she could introduce herself, that was a big clue. He almost wanted to immediately tell Aron to stop his investigation, because there was just no way it could be a mere coincidence or misunderstanding, the answer was hidden in that strange encounter.

 

He really wanted to say something now. He wanted to tell her what he knew… he wondered if what he knew would link up to what she knew, but once again, he froze up. He couldn’t speak and he felt like crying again. “Ren?” Her voice snapped him out of it. “Are you okay?”

 

“Oh, yeah!” He forced a fake smile. “I’m okay, don’t worry.” He added quickly.

 

“Are you sure?” She didn’t seem to buy it and looked really concerned.

 

“Yes, I think we should go now.” He nodded and got up from his seat.

 

Soo Min got up and followed after him half a moment later. She sprinted to catch up with him after exiting the building and remained a few feet behind him while they walked down the sidewalk. This went on for several minutes and she felt bad. It seemed like ever since she vented about her family to him he was bothered and looked upset. She even noticed his eyes starting to tear up before she snapped him out of it. Why is he being like that?

 

Maybe something similar happened to him and it brought up bad memories? Or maybe he was a sensitive person and felt sorry for her, because learning that your parents had an affair must be difficult. He's just sad? She thought to herself before she felt someone grab her hand. It was Ren.

 

She looked around to see there weren’t that many people around, it wasn’t crowded like when she was with Minhyun and he had to hold her hand so they wouldn’t get separated. She also didn’t seem to be in any potential danger like crossing the street while not looking… he was just standing there, holding her hand. “Uh?”

 

“Just until Baekho finds us.” He said softly with a sad smile. He had put his shades on to hide his teary eyes, and he was hoping she wouldn’t notice, but she did. He could tell by the way she didn’t say anything about it and nodded.

 

“What do you think about getting some ice cream?” She asked innocently and pointed down the street, hinting she knew a place where they could get it.

 

“Sure.” He smiled and let her lead the way.

 

The entire time, he watched their conjoined hands and pictured what this would have been like had she been around growing up.

 

He wondered what it would have been like to grow up with his sister this whole time.

 

He wondered how many times they would have gone out to get ice cream like they were doing now? He wondered how many times they would have gone out to eat and talk about trivial things like how much they hated school and homework or about Lady GaGa’s new music releases? He wondered how many times they would have gone out to bond as siblings?

 

He wondered what it would have been like to grow up with his sister.

 

The sister he’s always wanted.

 

The sister he’s always wished for.

 

Why? He thought as a few tears fell down his cheek. Why did they have to separate us? Why did they have to keep it a secret? Why?

 

He was heart broken when he saw the huge smile on Soo Min’s face when the lady at the ice cream truck handed over her huge triple scoop ice cream. It was too much.

 

“Sorry!” Soo Min apologized to the ice cream lady when they noticed Ren crying next to her. She quickly paid for the melting treat and snapped Ren out of it so he could follow her. They headed to the park nearby and sat on the first bench in sight. “What’s wrong?!” She finally asked.

 

“Nothing.” He sniffled and wiped his tears.

 

“How is it nothing?!” She frowned, she felt so bad. She hated to see other people cry, but seeing him cry really hurt for some reason.

 

“I’m breaking my diet.” He lied when another set of tears made their way down his cheeks.

 

“Seriously?!” She scoffed. “You don’t need to be on a diet!” She nudged him. “Enjoy life and what it has to offer, like this delicious ice cream!” She added and bit into her ice cream before whimpering. “It’s so cold!”

 

“It’s all over your face now!” He sobbed and grabbed one of the napkins to help her. Because of his tears, he couldn't really see that well and ended up missing the first time.

 

“Ow, that was my eye!” She complained when his hand with the napkin met her eye. He mumbled an apology and she grabbed a napkin and held it up to his face. “I think you need these more than me!” She pushed on his cheek and he finally laughed. They quickly let go and tended to their own faces. “Jeez, are you really going to be okay?” She asked after they were done cleaning off their faces.

 

“I will be.” He nodded and was finally about to take a of his ice cream when she stopped him. “What?”

 

“You said you were on a diet, maybe you should let me have it.” She was going to grab it from him but he held it away.

 

“No, this is mine!” He complained. “Don’t you have your own-you’re already done eating it?!” He was shocked. She gave a sheepish smile and he shook his head.

 

So, this is what it would have been like growing up with her. He smiled after facing away from her because she kept staring at his ice cream.

 

...

 

🎶 AOA - HEART ATTACK  🎶

 

Ah Ye (Brave Sound)

And it goes a little something like this

I’ve completely fallen for you

Your soft voice

I’ve fallen for it

I’m trembling

(AOA Let’s Go!)

 

Won Woo was waiting for Mingyu to show up to the burger joint they ate at yesterday after texting him that he arrived. Mingyu responded and said he was on his way and kept texting every few minutes saying it was two blocks away, that he saw a cat when he passed the alleyway, that he was stuck at the crosswalk…

 

I think I’m crazy, why am I like this

My heart is like a 18 year old girl’s, it keeps pounding

I can’t hide it, I’m like this every day

When our eyes meet, my ears turn red

 

You don’t understand? It’s because you didn’t see him

I totally understand how people fall in love at first sight

Now I know, the first time I saw you

 

He snickered at the song that was playing in the restaurant. He normally didn’t pay attention to the music when he was there because he was always distracted by the food. But today, it was different.

 

I’ve completely fallen for you

Your broad shoulders, your sharp eyes

Your soft voice

I’ve fallen for them

Just looking at your thin and long fingers makes me tremble

 

“What kind of song is this?” Won Woo asked himself. The song continued to play and after the second chorus, Mingyu walked in.

 

Oh my, I keep getting a heart attack

The more I see you

My heart keeps pounding, I don’t know

It’s like a heart attack, what do I do?

I keep wanting to be in your arms, baby

 

“Hey.” Mingyu greeted with his kind smile before taking a seat from across Won Woo who was staring at him. His cheeks were turning red and that made Mingyu chuckle to himself. “I take it that you’re happy to see me?”

 

When our eyes meet, my heart pounds

I try to get even the tiniest bit of your attention

“What about him do you like so much?”

My friends ask and I answer, “Don’t talk if you don’t know”

 

“Uh…” Won Woo finally snapped out of it and looked away.

 

“Sorry if I kept you waiting.”

 

“It’s fine. I wasn’t waiting long.” Won Woo assured him. “Do you just want to go order the food?” He added with a small stutter and pointed at the counter.

 

“Sure. The same like last time?” Mingyu asked and Won Woo nodded. He got up and headed to the counter without the older and started to think to himself while he was in line. He seems pretty flustered right now. He thought amused. He didn’t see him like that often. What happened?

 

I’ve completely fallen for you

Your broad shoulders, your sharp eyes

Your soft voice

I’ve fallen for them

Just looking at your thin and long fingers make me tremble

 

Oh my, I keep getting a heart attack

The more I see you

My heart keeps pounding, I don’t know

It’s like a heart attack, what do I do?

I keep wanting to be in your arms, baby

 

Mingyu thought this song best described him and he had to chuckle to himself. He hadn’t noticed it playing until now and he thought it was perfect timing, too.

 

By the time he returned to the table the song was over and Won Woo had calmed down. “Thanks.” He smiled when Mingyu handed him his food. They ate their food in silence at first before Mingyu asked about earlier when he called and Won Woo had been asleep.

 

“I overslept.” Won Woo simply said, but Mingyu knew there was more to that. It didn’t seem like Won Woo to oversleep like that, so something must’ve happened after he dropped Mingyu off last night.

 

“It happens.” Mingyu smiled and continued eating. There was more silence before Won Woo stopped and put his burger down. He looked bothered now. Before Mingyu could say anything…

 

“I couldn’t sleep last night.” He admitted. “I managed to fall asleep for an hour before my alarm would go off. I was going to get up, but I wasn’t feeling so well from the lack of sleep so I fell asleep again and slept until you called me.”

 

“That , I’m sorry.” Mingyu felt bad for him. He wondered why he couldn’t sleep?

 

“Yeah, you better be sorry, because you’re the reason why.” Won Woo snickered and that surprised Mingyu. “After I dropped you off last night, you seemed bothered and I worried if I upset you again. I thought about it all night.”

 

“... I’m sorry.” Mingyu managed to get out. “I didn’t mean to worry you.”

 

“It’s fine.” Won Woo muttered and picked up a fry to eat. “How was school?” He added on. He thought he should keep up a chat so it wouldn’t get awkwardly quiet.

 

“It went good.” Mingyu answered with a small smile.

 

“That’s good.” Won Woo simply said and thought of what else to talk about. “How are your friends?”

 

“They’re good.” Mingyu simply replied in return, he seemed like was focusing on eating and Won Woo felt bad. He figured they’ve come to a time where things were getting stiff and potentially awkward because of their situation. Mingyu openly admitted that he liked Won Woo, while the latter stayed quiet about it all.

 

“And your parents?”

 

“They’re good.”

 

“You’re sounding like a robot again.” Won Woo frowned.

 

“Sorry.” Mingyu said quietly and tried to force a smile. “Should we go now?” He asked now that the food was gone.

 

“Sure.” Won Woo nodded and they cleaned up the table before leaving the burger joint.

 

The two agreed on taking a walk to the park shortly after leaving. And just like Won Woo predicted, the walk was quiet. Mingyu didn’t seem to have a lot to say today, and he had a feeling why. He must be frustrated with Won Woo after openly saying that he liked him yesterday but all Won Woo could do was just avoid saying anything back and suggesting to leave. I really should say something… he thought while they were walking until he noticed something up ahead.

 

He spotted Soo Min and Ren in the distance before a white car pulled up and someone got out to approach them. I guess she missed class, too. He snickered quietly before Mingyu asked him why he did that. “Nothing.” Won Woo shook his head in reply. “Let’s go this way.” He suggested so they could avoid bumping into Ren and Soo Min. He felt like they should let them be for now and besides, he still wanted to make things right between him and MIngyu, how could he do that with other people around?

 

...

 

“There you two are!” Baekho called over after he got out of his car. He had pulled up next to Soo Min and Ren when they were walking down the park's sidewalk, on their way to leave. “What did I say about sending me a text when you leave off on your own?!” He scolded and Ren suddenly hid behind Soo Min like he was a scared little kid.

 

“I’m sorry, it was my idea!” Soo Min quickly said. “I didn’t know he had to tell you where he was going!” Baekho’s scary expression instantly softened into his kind natured one.

 

“Oh, that’s okay!” Baekho said nicely. “Please remember next time you leave with him!”

 

“Unbelievable!” Ren was amazed. “You tamed the Wild White Tiger.” He turned Soo Min around so her back was facing Baekho. “I don’t have to tell you where I go! I’m a free man!”

 

“It doesn’t work like that, Ren.” Baekho laughed when Ren pouted. “I can see you two had a lot of fun while you were out?” He asked and pointed to their hats and shades.

 

“We put on a disguise and totally fooled the paparazzi!” Soo Min beamed. “Walked right past them and they didn’t even notice!”

 

“Impressive.” Baekho smiled. “Anything else exciting happened?” The two thought about it before shaking their heads. “Then, shall we call it a day and head home?”

 

“Awh.” Soo Min frowned. She was having such a great time with Ren and was disappointed that it had to end so early.

 

“We’ll drop you off.” Ren patted her on the back with a small smile.

 

“Thanks!” They both headed over to Baekho’s car and got into the back seat together. Baekho got into the driver’s seat and looked back at both of them through the rearview mirror and smiled at the cute sight. They really do look like siblings who were out having a fun time together. He thought before turning the car on.

 

“Awh, you two look so cute in your disguises!” Aron cooed and startled them from the front passenger seat.

 

“Tch, of course.” Ren snickered while putting on his seatbelt.

 

“I didn’t know you were the type to skip class!” Aron’s words were directed to Soo Min who gave him a worried laugh. “Why didn’t you two invite me out to your little adventure! I’m hurt!”

 

“Shut up, Aron.” Ren said in annoyance. Soo Min just laughed at the betrayed look on Aron’s face before it quickly vanished and he was back to smiling at them.

 

“Did you two eat while you were out?” Baekho asked after they were on the road.

 

“Yes.” Soo Min nodded.

 

“Then we’ll drop you off now.” He smiled and made the correct turn to head to her apartment.

 

It didn’t take long and the car ride was a bit silent other than music playing. It was a short ride so maybe it was better that they weren’t caught up in talking. “Thanks for the ride!” Soo Min smiled and unbuckled her seatbelt before wincing when her side fringe got stuck when the seat belt retracted. It was time to cut them again!

 

“Are you okay?” Aron asked after opening the door for her. She pointed to the seat belt and he quickly helped her get free from it. “Take it easy~!” He called after her. When she was finally gone, Aron got into the back seat and pulled on the seat belt and held up the few strands of Soo Min’s hair that was left behind from getting stuck. “You know what this means?!” He asked his friends.

 

“What? That you’re a creep collecting hair?!” Ren looked at him worriedly.

 

“No, silly!” Aron laughed before he reached over and grabbed Ren’s ponytail and pulled on it until a few of the loose strands that fall out naturally was in his hold. He held up Ren’s hair next to Soo Min’s hair. “I have my DNA samples. Quickly, to my secret lair~!” He shouted and startled both Baekho and Ren.

 

“HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!” Ren shouted back while holding his ponytail in irritation. “What do you mean, DNA sample-” he suddenly stopped.

 

“Exactly, Baekho, take my to my cousin Youngmi’s place~! She should have a few DNA kits laying around from the time she was trying to see how accurate they were. Still don’t know why she doubted me and her being related?”

 

“You wonder why?” Ren glared at him. Aron innocently shrugged and shook his head. Ren just sighed and Baekho drove them to Aron’s cousin’s place like requested.

 

…

 

Mingyu and Won Woo found a bench to sit on after circling around the park during their walk. Ren and Soo Min had left and Won Woo was glad that they weren’t going to bump into them when they circled around the area. He would ask what she was doing with Ren later when he gets home, for now… he was probably just going to stay quiet around Mingyu until it was time to leave. It seemed to be what he was the best at doing lately. Damn.

 

“I should probably go home.” Mingyu broke the silence between them and got up from his seat. “See you tomorrow.” He added and started to walk off and left Won Woo on the bench alone.

 

“W-Wait.” Won Woo didn’t say it loud enough for Mingyu to hear and watched him disappear off into the distance. He was gone. “Wait…”

 

Hearing Mingyu speak like that to him made his heart ache. It didn’t sound like it did before, when he said it with more excitement and care… this time it sounded like he was forcing himself to say it and that he actually didn’t want to say it. Won Woo started to wonder if Mingyu actually gave up on him for taking too long to say anything? Why is liking someone so difficult? He thought again and brought his knees up to his chest while resting the heels of his feet on the bench for support. Why is it like this? Why is it so hard to tell him how I feel?

 

He remained like that for a few moments until he heard someone sit on the bench next to him. The strong smell of perfume attacked his nose and he instantly sneezed. “Sorry, was it my perfume?” The woman said with a sheepish smile and Won Woo recognized her as the woman who had comforted him before. They were in the same park on the same bench.

 

“It’s you…” he stared at her and she chuckled.

 

“I’m so glad we bumped into each other again… I’ve been worried about you, sweetie.” The woman said with a genuine smile. “Are you doing better now?” She added with a worried look. She was gesturing at how dejected he seemed today.

 

“I’m okay.” He lied, but she didn’t buy it of course.

 

“Do you want to talk about it?” She asked and rested a hand on his shoulder for comfort. He stilled at her touch before relaxing a bit. He looked over at her with a conflicted expression. He wasn’t sure why he should tell a stranger about his problems? “We don’t have to if you don’t want to, it’s alright.” She gave him a supportive smile and he appreciated that.

 

“I’m sorry, but… who are you?” Won Woo asked and he noticed her get quiet. When he looked at her, she had a sad smile on her lips and he didn’t know why it made him feel sad, like he was going to start crying. “Do I know you?”

 

“No… but you should have.” She simply answered and that left him extremely confused. “Here.” She handed him a business card. “Come visit me when you can.”

 

Won Woo took the card from her and looked over it.

 

Choi Rina

Fashion Designer

 

Suddenly, the image of Ren popped into his head. She’s his mother, right? He was going to turn and ask her about it, but she was already gone. “Damn… people keep leaving me.” He muttered and finally got up from his seat. He had enough and wanted to go home and sleep for the rest of eternity.

 

...

 

“I’m home!” Soo Min called out to the empty apartment and frowned until she heard someone in the kitchen. Her face lit up and she rushed over to see it was her boyfriend. “Yah! What are you doing here?!” She was startled.

 

“Didn’t you get my text? I said I was coming over! But then you weren’t here and I got hungry.” He laughed before he blew on the cup ramen noodles he just prepared.

 

“Pfft…” she snickered and pulled her phone out and saw she had a few missed text messages. She must’ve been too distracted to notice her phone buzzing in her pocket that whole time.

 

“Where were you? Did you go to some party?” He asked and pointed at the hat and star shaped sunglasses she was wearing.

 

“Oh!” She took them off and smiled. “I was hanging out with Ren earlier. I bumped into him at school and we got to talking.” She explain. She could see the conflicted expression on his face, but she understood that it would happen. The idea that she was hanging out with another guy when he wanted to hang out with her was probably something he wouldn't really get over down the road. He'd possibly even be jealous of her hanging out with her girl friends as well.

 

“Did you eat?” He asked and stirred his noodles a few times. He must’ve wanted to eat dinner with her, too.

 

“Not a lot.” She shook her head. “Why, want to share your ramen?” She grinned and skipped on over.

 

“No, get your own!” He turned away.

 

“You’re in my apartment eating my cup ramen, what are you talking about?!” She laughed and tugged on his arm. He gave a sheepish laugh before facing her and held up some of the noodles for her to eat. She took the bite and up the noodles the best she could without making a mess, but she didn’t succeed. “Why does it have to be so messy?” She pouted while he cleaned her chin off with a napkin.

 

“You’re just a messy eater.” He chuckled. “But that’s okay, I still love you.” He added and gave her a quick kiss to her lips. She smiled and hugged him before he could get another bite of the noodles. He wrapped his free arm around her and was pleased. “What did you and Ren do while you were out?” He was just curious and it was okay to be curious.

 

“We went undercover to hide from the paparazzi and it worked.” She explained after parting from him leaning against the counter next to him while he continued to eat. “We talked about our majors and our music interests… and at some point, an elderly woman said something that made me think about it again.”

 

“About it?”

 

“About who Ren really is…” she said softly. “She said to Ren, you and your sister are adorable. And to be honest… it felt like it was true. I felt like I really was Ren’s younger sister and we were just having a bonding day as siblings.” She hadn't noticed it, but she was about to cry.

 

She didn't realize until now that… maybe it was why Ren had cried so much earlier. He must've thought about what that elder said, too. She wondered if he was someone who wished they had a sibling? Maybe it was a sensitive subject for him, maybe something happened to the siblings he already had, she didn't know that much about him yet to be sure.

 

But after she vented about her parents affair, that seemed to be when he got upset. Maybe both scenarios happened to him? She could feel her heart ache just thinking about it. She hoped that wasn't the case. I need to know, I need to find out more about him...

 

“What's wrong?” Jeonghan's voice snapped her out of it and he sat his ramen down before rubbing her arm in comfort.

 

“Nothing.” She shook her head with an embarrassed laugh. She used her finger to catch the half formed tear from her eye before it could fall. “Just upset that I had to walk around the city with these out of control bangs!” She pulled at them in frustration.

 

“I guess Won Woo didn't want to help you this morning?” He chuckled but he was still.worried about her.

 

“No.” She gave a defeated expression.

 

“What a jerk.” Jeonghan pouted before taking her hand into his. “I'll do it for you.” He said with a cute smile and led her to the bathroom.

 

“Thanks, at least I can count on you!” She beamed at him through the mirror.

 

He took the hair tie off from her braid and proceeded to brush her hair after plugging in the flat iron. He had handed her the hair tie and she was fiddling with it in her hand the entire time while thinking about the small adventure she had with Ren today. It would be nice if you really were my older brother. She thought and looked up into the mirror. Their appearance really didn't seem like a coincidence at all… Even though her encounters with Ren and his mother were strange to her, it didn't seem like it was enough to make any assumptions. I need to talk to halmoni soon…

 

“There, all done.” Jeonghan's voice snapped her out of it and she glanced up to see her iconic straight hair and smiling boyfriend.

 

“Thanks.” She turned around and smiled back before hugging him tightly. “Let's go make some more ramen!” She added before dragging him out of the bathroom once he unplugged the flat iron. Safety first!

 

“You want to eat peasant food?” He pouted.

 

“Nonsense, it's survival food!” She laughed. “We gotta make sure we're able to enjoy it in case there's a time where instant ramen is the only food source.”

 

“... you have a point.” He had to admit it.

 

With that they were in the kitchen boiling up some more water to make another serving of cup noodles. Just when they finished cooking, Won Woo finally came home. “Hey, man, did you want some cup noodle-” Soo Min was asking from the kitchen entrance until Won Woo slammed his door shut. “Oh my god…” she clutched her startled heart.

 

“What’s up with him?!” Jeonghan frowned and rested a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. He didn’t like that.

 

“I don’t know?” She said softly while staring at his bedroom door. “Maybe he had a bad day at school?” She wouldn’t know since she hadn’t talked to him all day. Now she was worried. She immediately pulled out her phone and texted Jihoon to ask if he met up with Won Woo during the day, but unfortunately, he said he didn’t because he was busy with class work all afternoon.

 

“Do you think maybe he met with Mingyu?” Jeonghan pulled out his phone so he could text his friend.

 

“He probably did, but don’t tell him about this… Won Woo must be pissed by something and it’d probably only get worse if we started to in on it.”

 

“True.” Jeonghan let out a frustrated sigh and glance at the bedroom door again. “But did he have to slam the door?”

 

“It’s okay. Just let him be.” Soo Min said with a weak smile. “Let’s just finish eating our noodles.” She suggested and went back into the kitchen. Jeonghan wasn’t sure what to do or say, she had a point, they shouldn’t in, but he knew this was going to worry Soo Min all night now unless he came out to talk to her. Unfortunately, he had to leave after eating with her, but he asked her to let him know how things go later.

 

Soo Min sat on the couch by herself with the TV on, but she wasn’t even facing it, she was facing the opposite way and was watching Won Woo’s closed bedroom door down the hallway. What’s wrong, Won Woo? She thought in her mind like he would hear it in his. But it was just quiet and nothing happened. I’m so worried about him… what happened? She eventually fell asleep on the couch like that until Won Woo came out of his room several hours later… around 1am.

 

He saw her sleeping on the couch and he frowned. He felt bad, he knew she must’ve been worrying about him. He regretted acting the way he did when he returned home earlier, with slamming the door. He agreed maybe that was a bit unnecessary. A part of him wanted to wake her up and apologize while the other part wanted to let it go and wait until the morning. Stop waiting things out! He scolded himself in his mind before he reached out to nudge Soo Min’s shoulder.

 

She woke up with a small groan before she realized it was Won Woo who woke her up. “Oh…” she said while sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of her eye. “Did I fall asleep?” She added before grabbing her phone off of the coffee table to check for the time. “Jeez, it’s so late!”

 

“Yeah, you should go to your room.” Won Woo said before heading to the front door.

 

“Where are you going at this hour?” She asked and stood up to follow after him.

 

“Where do you think?” He snickered. “Put 1 and 2 together.”

 

“3?”

 

“... you just woke up so I shouldn’t expect your brain to be functioning at full capacity right now.” He chuckled while pushing her back by the forehead with his index finger. “Go back to sleep… we’ll talk later.” He added before opening the front door and leaving before she could say anything in reply.

 

“He’s going to see Mingyu, isn’t he?” She muttered quietly with a small smile after he was gone. Because what else would he be doing this late at night?

---

Chapter thirty-one~!

Won Woo going through a lot lol slamming his door like some angtsy teenager on a bad day.

Mingyu is just feeling like things aren’t going to work OTL

Ren having an emotional day with his half sister now… 

Long time no see, long time no seeeee

*Ren is me*

I’m happy to say I managed to pass the math course I was struggling with.

I was cutting it close, passing it on the last day of the instructors career, he was retiring lol

I’m like I’d wanna retire too after this crazy semester.

I got to see him input my final grade and he gave me a B-.

Math is my worst subject so I was like…

I kinda felt like saying are you sure this is right? Should have been like a C.

But I mean, I did get a score of 80, so that is a B- in the end haha

I really shouldn't complain...

So thank you all for being patient, I’m officially free from school now.

I should be graduating but still gotta hear from my advisor but my point is I finished what I started and that’s an achievement for me given my rough history with school. So I’m happy that I’ve completed math and that my transcript is nothing but 7 A+s, 5 As, 2 A-s, 1 B and 1 B-.

My next achievement is to fully recover from my knee injury before the year is over. I don’t mind the physical therapy, but man, it’s tough when it’s like a million degrees outside and then you’re doing intense exercise OTL There was talk about surgery during my last visit to my doctor so… yeah. Maybe that will do the trick lol

There’s one more thing I want to bring up before I leave~!

I’m gonna work on CLOSER as much as I can, even though I have therapy visits twice a week and hospital visits coming up, but like, I remember before I relaunched this fic, I had given out my KakaoTalk ID and other socials and asked for you guys to message me if you wanted to talk because I love talking to readers, most of the readers who have been talking to me are now good friends of mine! I think it’s nice to have a lot of people to talk to, especially about stuff you like so I wanna invite you guys to come talk to me again~! I’ll leave my Insta and Twitter in this A/N for those who don’t have KakaoTalk cuz I know not everyone uses it, but if you do have KakaoTalk and are interested… I’ve created an Open Chat Room on there. Here is the link to it https://open.kakao.com/o/gSqfPFx. If you don’t know what that means, if you tap on the link and join the Chat Room, you can talk to me and other readers who tapped on the link :D

I’m not really expecting a lot to join the chat room, there’s probably only going to be 3 of us in there but that’s more than ZERO, right? I think it would be fun to talk about the story in there, or about Seventeen and Nuest, fangirl/fanboy with each other… send screen shots of spoilers for upcoming chapters, I don’t know, fun stuff!

So I’ll see you there, maybe~! *lol, Ren’s voice mail reference*

P.S sorry for the Nuest gif spam, I was total NU’EST trash before becoming SEVENTEEN trash.

fists, he looked like he was struggling and Mingyu noticed and frowned.

"Won Woo-"

"Listen." Won Woo summoned up the courage to look up at him before he spoke again.

Another P.S, here's a spoiler for the next chapter anyway~! LOL