The next morning, the three of us ate breakfast in silence. I thought they were going to ask me questions, but none of them actually spoke up. As I was putting my shoes on, getting ready to leave, my stepdad came over to me. “Can I talk to you tonight when you come back from work?”   I guess story time comes tonight. “Okay, see you tonight.” ----- As I walked towards math class, someone pulled me on the side and to the corner of the staircase. Jungkook released his hold on my arm. “Wazzup, stepbrother hyung.”   He kept a straight face. “Did you talk with my dad yesterday?”   “Yeah, of course, we live together. We talk every day.”   “No. I mean, about me.”   Did my stepdad tell him everything? “Yeah. Did he text you?”   “Yeah. He wished me a happy belated-birthday, and he said he wanted to talk to me in person tonight.”   “Great! I bet he won’t forget your birthday anymore now. He told me he wanted to talk to me tonight too.”   “Do you know what he wants to talk about though?”   It’s probably best for his dad to tell him. “I don’t know. You’ll know when you see him tonight.” I looked at the time, and there was five minutes until class started. “Come on, leggo, we’re gonna be late soon.” I pushed him forward and used his shoulders to lessen the pain on my foot as we walked to class. ----- The rest of the day went by pleasantly, without seeing Seokjin or Nayeon. It’s not that I don’t like Seokjin sunbae, but his existence around me makes me feel like I’m stepping into a danger zone.   Another day of work was over, and Jungkook decided to go home with me, figuring it’d be too late to go if he went in to visit his mom first. Arriving at my our apartment complex, Jungkook stared at it for a while and let out a sigh. Seeing how he just stood there not moving, I pulled on his arm and dragged him into the building.   When we got up to the 18th floor, Jungkook once again just stood and stared at the door, while I was standing there staring at him stare at the door. “Are you going to go in or not?”   “I will.” But he didn’t move even after I unlocked the door.   “When was the last time you were here?”   “Four years ago, when I moved out.”                                  “How long have you not seen your dad?”   He had to think about that for a moment. “Maybe a few weeks? Or months.” Well, that’s indeed quite a long time.   The door suddenly opened, and one of the housemaids, Irene, was standing at the door. “Oh! Hello, Hyemin. Hello, Mister Jungkook. I heard the door unlock, but no one opened the door, so I wanted to check and see, is everything alright?”   Someone’s too scared to go in. “Oh, nothing, we were just too immersed in our chatting. We’re going in now.” I walked in, and Jungkook (finally) followed in behind me.   My mom and stepdad were already waiting for us in the living room. “Hi Mom. Hi Uncle Jeon. We’re back!” Jungkook didn’t sound as enthusiastic. “Hi Dad. Hi … , umm, auntie.”   My mom smiled and walked towards us, more like walking towards Jungkook and ruffling his hair. “Hi Jungkook! I’ve heard so much about you from your dad, but I’d only seen you from your baby pictures. Oh, you’ve grown up so well, such a handsome young fellow!” Pfft, I almost laughed out loud when I saw the grimace on his face.   “Nice to see the two of you back at the same time.” My stepdad came over as well and tried to reach out to us, but Jungkook instinctively stepped back. The atmosphere suddenly turned extremely awkward. “Hey uncle, why don’t we go sit upstairs in your office and talk. My foot is starting to hurt from standing too long.”   “Oh yeah, of course.” My mom stayed downstairs, so this was probably going to be a father-to-kids talk, or more like a father-to-son talk. “Hyemin, do you want to wash up first? I want to talk to Jungkook for a bit.”   “Sure—” I was about to get up and leave, but Jungkook grabbed onto my hand and pulled me back down.   “No.” We both looked at Jungkook in surprise, totally not expecting that. “She’s already in here now. Why can’t we just talk together?” His hand was sweating and slightly shaking.   My stepdad seemed more amused than anything else. “Okay then. You two seem a lot closer than I thought. And Hyemin’s only been in school for a few days.”   “Actually, we work together in the same shift, so we’ve known each other for weeks.”   He looked even more delighted. “Well, what a coincidence. This whole time I was thinking how you two would get along knowing that you guys are step siblings. Anyways, Jungkook, when are you moving back in?”   “Saturday.” Wow, that’s sooner than I thought.   “I’ll have someone drive you here with all your luggage and stuff.”   “Okay.”   There was once again a long awkward silence. “So about the wedding—”   “—Are you planning something?”   “Well, see, you’re already 17 this year—”   “—so you are going to introduce me. As the heir of SPP.” His dad stayed silent. “I thought I told you I didn’t want to be a whatever CEO of a company.” Oh no, someone sounds like he’s getting pissed off.   “Jungkook, I’ve been trying to get you involved in the company for your own advantage, but you never listen to me.”   He looked like he was about to break down. “But I have tried. I went to your company meetings before. I told you I don’t want to be doing this in the future. You’re the one not listening to me.” I can sense the guns firing back and forth now. I should have just left when I still could.   “Company meetings are only a part of it. There’s so much more things you can learn when you start dealing with other businesses and partners. And the amount you can earn is so much more than a regular salary.”   “But I don’t like dealing with them, and I don’t need that much money. Money isn’t everything. I want a job with a regular working schedule and a regular pay.”   “You are still young. You won’t understand the importance of money until you run into situations where you need money to solve the problem but don’t have enough of it. Yes, money isn’t everything, but without money, you can’t do anything.” Oh, that phrase sounds very familiar. Isn’t it supposed to be ‘without money, you have nothing’?   “I don’t want to be like you, disappearing for months and neglecting your family because you think you haven’t earned enough money yet.” Ouch! That was pretty harsh. “Not going into business doesn’t mean I won’t earn money.”   “But doing business can earn you so much more! Why would anyone NOT want to earn MORE when they can!”   “That’s because if you have to SACRAFICE your family for money and business, what’s the point of earning so much when there’s NO ONE to share and spend it on!” Okay, now we’re just going in circles, and both of them are beyond pissed right now. Weren’t we talking about the wedding in the beginning?   “IF I’M NOT THE ONE PAYING FOR ALL YOUR SCHOOL EXPENDITURES AND TUITION FEES, YOU WOULDN’T EVEN BE ABLE TO PAY FOR A DECENT EDUCATION AND EARN ENOUGH MONEY TO RENT A HOUSE OUTSIDE!”   “I NEVER SAID I NEEDED OR WANTED TO GO TO THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS HIGH SCHOOL HERE IN KOREA, AND I WOULDN’T EVEN BOTHER TO MOVE BACK HERE IF MOM ISN’T IN