"Get up there before she gets worried. You have dinner with your cousins remember?" said Hyuk.
"But... I don't want to live with her," said Daejung.
"Can you live on your own now, Daejung? Do you have friends you can stay with for the night? Can you pay for your own place? Do you want to come back to your relatives in Incheon? Do you have anyone else other than your sister?" said Hyuk.
"No," answered Daejung.
"Then go up there and live happily ever after," said Hyuk turning around.
"She's the reason this happened to my family, hyung. How am I supposed to live happy with her?" said Daejung almost in a scream.
Hyuk had to stop and turn around to face him. "Is that what your sister told you? Or something your relatives made you believe?" he asked as calmly as he could. Daejung opened his mouth to answer but stopped midway. "You still don't know the truth, Daejung. Neither do I. No one does unless she says it herself. So do yourself a favor. Rather than standing there thinking if living with Chahye is right or wrong, why don't you start walking up and live with her and eventually hear the whole truth from her?"
"Can I visit you?"
"As long as the band is free and you tell your sister."
"Will she let me?"
"That's not for me to decide. But if she does, give me a call."

Daejung just bowed at him then walked into the building. Hyuk made sure he got onto the stairs before turning around to go, hands in his pockets.

Chahye left HIGHGRND early with Hyeontae. That was when Hyunjae told Daejung to come out of the office. He came to Seoul early, spending time with the band rather than tell his sister. He didn't want to stay with her but Hyuk and the others made him. Sometimes, Hyuk wonders why he would rather listen to him than Chahye. But they both knew why. And even they knew living with her would mean taking in the same dark past and worry on their shoulders, they still would want to stay with her and share it.

He was soon out of the compound when he heard someone call his name. He knew whose voice it was and he turned around with a smile on his face.
"Thank you for bringing him home," said Chahye.
"It's nothing," he said walking towards her. "Aren't you going to leave yet?"
"Jiho and Jisuk oppa can wait," she said smiling. "We never really had the chance to talk earlier. How have you been?"
"Good. I guess. Busy. I never thought being popular would be so stressful," smiled Hyuk.
"You guys deserve all the attention anyway. So it's cool," smiled Chahye.
"How have you been? Will you go to university this semester?"
"Yes. Still one more year to go and I'm all done."
"Good luck."
"Thanks."
"So, how's the case going?"
"Uhm... Good. I guess. We have a hearing on Friday. And it's about him again."
"Still looking for a shorter jail time huh?"
"He's already sentenced to 25. Their lawyers are looking to end it at 15 because of good conduct, whatever they mean by that."
"Lawyers. Fifteen years don't even add up to what he did."
"How about you? I heard you'll be going to China soon."
"Yeah. Rock festival."
"Have fun."
"What do you want me to bring home?"
"Anything."
"I'll go look for something special then."
"You already know what those are. You're been in China before."
"Well, yeah. One day, I'll bring you with me."
"You promised me that before."
"And I still will do it."
"Thanks for bringing Daejung here, by the way. Even though he doesn't tell me, I know he's having doubts staying with me."
"If you need help with him, just tell me. You know, he listens to me."
"I know. Sometimes, it feels like you two are the real siblings. Not us."
"He just needs some time to adjust, Chahye."
"Thanks. I owe you so much, Hyuk."
"Yeah. You do. But I'm not looking for payback so I guess we're good."

They stood there for a while, just staring at each other, smiling every now and then. It's been months since they actually had the chance to talk like this and meet up without other people. He was always busy, performing everywhere in the country, even going overseas. Chahye spent too much time at work and the university. Although they call each other every now and then, it was different to actually be beside each other.

"Hyuk... Can I... Can I hug you?" asked Chahye.
"Any time, Jin Chahye. Any time," answered Hyuk opening his arms for her.

Chahye hugged him just like before, gentle, sweet and tight. She rested her face in his chest and tangled her hands together at his back. Hyuk closed his eyes as he rested his chin at the top of her head, brushing his fingers through her hair, the other hand on her back. Hyuk was always her angel, that one person you love the most but just can't become yours. The same goes with Hyuk. Even though he knew she couldn't be his, there will always be that part in his heart dedicated only to her, that one person who would know exactly how to make him smile without even doing anything special. It took them a long while before Hyuk let her go, reminding her they still had a dinner to go to.

"Would you bring Daejung to Hanlim tomorrow?" asked Chahye.
"I thought you asked Hyeontae about that?" he answered.
"Well, I did. But he said CJamm and Byungyoon would definitely come along. You need to be there and keep my brother grounded," smiled Chahye.
"Well, CJamm knows a lot more about the campus than we do. I guess I really have to," smiled Hyuk as well.
"I don't want Daejung learning where to sneak to if he ever decides to cut classes," laughed Chahye.
"You cut classes back then as well. Don't act so angelic," teased Hyuk.
"That was only during 11th grade. I didn't do it again," she said hugging him again. "See you tomorrow, Hyuk."
"See you," he said kissing her forehead.

Chahye walked back up to her apartment, waving at Hyuk before disappearing from his sight. It's been years since they dated but it always felt the same when he was with her. She never changed. His feelings for her never wavered as well. But they both knew it would never happen between them.

He decided to walk to the bus stop and go straight to Hongdae where Inwoo told him they would have dinner. He noticed someone following him though. He stopped then walked again, trying to feel if he'll still be followed. He was.

Just as he reached the corner to where a convenience store was, he stopped and turned around quick. And he saw the man.

"Kwon Hyuk."
"Oh Hyuk."
"You're lucky Chahye didn't notice you."
"Not when she started talking to you."
"So aside from being your dancer, what else do you need from her?"

They didn't have enough stories at dinner. Jiho and Jisuk were the ones with a lot to share. Chahye and Daejung just sat on the table, listening, eating. They usually spend time with them but never have they really felt comfortable, especially Daejung. It's not because they don't spend much time together, but because of the looming air around them because of the past.

"I hope you had fun with your hyungs, Daejung-ah," said Chahye as she was placing the food containers Jiho's mom made them bring home.
"It was fun. Maybe," answered her younger brother from the living room.
"You know, Jisuk oppa... He usually tells me he wanted to bring you to Busan once. He said there were a lot of attractions there."
"Have you been there?"
"Once. Hyeontae, Jeonjae and Mino took me there. We watched some jazz band in one of the clubs."
"Who's Jeonjae?"
"One of the boys Mino used to work with. He's called Wikiyoung. I don't see him recently. He's been back and forth to Japan, working with people from Cohort and Hi Lite."
"Why do you only have guys as friends?"
"Because it's hard to be friends with girls. But I have some. Just enough to go around with."

Chahye walked over to the living room just after cleaning up in the kitchen. She saw her brother with the bag he took from their relatives in Incheon. He took out two shoeboxes and stacked them on the floor. He then took out a cardboard box and opened the top.
"What's that?" she asked leaning on the wall.
"Ah. It's just some photos I had back in grade school," answered Daejung. "Some notebooks as well."
"Will you be missing some people in Incheon?" she asked.
"No. I didn't really have much friends there," answered Daejung.
"I see. I hope it doesn't bother you that we'll share the same room. When things get better, we could look for a bigger apartment and you'll have your own room," smiled Chahye as she walked to the sofa.
"It's fine, noona. I can live with this," said Daejung smiling faintly at her.
"Well, fix your things quick and get some rest. You're going to enroll tomorrow and you need to leave early."
"Will you be coming with me?"
"I can't. I have to enroll at the university tomorrow as well. But some friends will go with you."
"Is it Hyuk hyung?"
"Yes. Hyuk will go with you."
"Are you two still together?"
"No. It's been years, Daejung. You were still a kid back then."
"Then why is he taking me?"
"We went to the same high school remember? He'll be able to show you the campus and some rules... Not like they really follow them but you know what I mean. And besides, Hyuk loves you, too. He was happy at the thought of being with you."

Daejung watched as she walked over to their room and switched the lights on. "Noona," Daejung called just before she stepped in. "Will he be at court on Friday?" he asked.
Chahye stopped and turned around to look at him. "I... I don't know," she answered knowing perfectly what he meant..
"But it's about his sentence. He's bound to appear, right?" he said.
"Maybe. There's a big chance he'll be there. But I don't know," she said not looking at him.
"I want to be there, noona," said Daejung standing up.
"You don't need to be there, Daejung. I can handle it," assured Chahye.
"No. I want to be there. I want to see him," he said leaving his sister in worry. "I want to see him. I want to see the man that made everything crumble down. I want to see him and tell him that he should burn in hell."
"Daejung," said Chahye sternly at the mention of his words.
"I haven't seen him before. And his sister always tells me that he never meant it to happen. That our mother brought her death to herself, that it was all her fault. I don't believe them. I never wanted to believe them. I want to hear the truth. I want to see him and know for myself if he's capable of doing it or not," he kept on talking.
"Daejung..." started Chahye. "Whatever happened in the past, don't let it affect you. You should work your way so you'll be different than him. You have to work hard and make your life a lot better than what it is right now. You have to be able to stand tall in front of other people. You have to learn to always choose what you think is right. There's no use living in the past and keeping grudges on people."
"Then why does it still affect you? Why can't you move on?" Daejung asked.
"I'm... I'm just different, Daejung. I... I try to forget. But it's always there. When this case is finally over, I guess we can all move on already," said Chahye almost in tears.
"I still want to see him," said her brother.
"We can ask Mr. Lee if you can sit in the audience with Jiho and Jisuk oppa. I'll tell him tomorrow," she said turning around. "Hurry up and get ready for bed, Daejung. Good night," she said finally closing the door behind her.

He just stood there and stared at the door. He sparked it again, her tears. Even though he couldn't see it, he knew he made his sister cry again. Sometimes he wishes everything just didn't happen, that their past was a lot better, that fate became a lot nicer to her. He knew she was hurting but he couldn't understand it. He never would. But he wished he could. Hyuk was right when he said that the truth could only be heard from . But he knew that because of him, his sister avoided becoming weak in his eyes. He knew it was because of him that she needed to be strong. And that's why she never talks about it. Because each and every time, she becomes a crying mess. He wasn't strong and brave like his sister was. And Hyuk was right.

"You're sister is weak and she knows that. But she strives to be better and stronger just for you. She can't change what already happened but she's doing her best to change her future for you. In return, be strong for her as well. She can't trust people. But you certainly are the closest to her heart more than anyone else. Do your best so she could trust you. If you can't, she'll end up trusting no one, not even your cousins."

Daejung looked at the door and clenched his hands into fists.

"I will do my best, noona."

= _ = _ = _ = _ =

I'm so happy my imagination led me into adding Hyukoh here. Like.. ohmygosh. 

Chahye is so lucky to have numerous guys in her life, don't you think?! Crush, Dean, Hyuk and Millic...

Well, Millic is mine so I guess I can cross him out. XD lol