The two boys wandered home in utter silence after dropping you off at the cottage. You thanked them and wished them a goodnight before they left.

Sungjong followed behind Woohyun and plucked a leaf off a nearby tree. He broke the silence. “Hyung,” He called out.

“Yes?” The latter asked as his eyes stuck to the path ahead of them.

“Why did you seem so...strange, when you returned home, earlier? Is there a problem?” Sungjong asked timidly. Woohyun stopped in his tracks, which almost made the boy behind him bump into his back. ‘I didn’t act too weirdly, did I?’ He raised an eyebrow, shook his head and continued to walk.

“You’re acting odd again,” Sungjong muttered. “I don’t know if it can be counted as a problem...but I guess I just have a lot on my mind,” Woohyun shrugged in return. Sungjong raised an eyebrow in disbelief and pointed out, “If it’s bothering you, it must be a problem. You’ve been acting out of the ordinary since yesterday. Is it something to do with [xxx]?”

Woohyun pursed his lips in thought. He didn’t know whether he should tell the younger boy or not. “Oh come on hyung, I won’t tell anyone else,” Sungjong persuaded. The eldest of the pair let a sigh escape from his lips and gave up.

“Something about [xxx] attracts me and I don’t know what it is. She, as a person, is alluring...it’s not about her blood.” He paused and threw a glance at Sungjong, to see his reaction. Sungjong just nodded his head in response and questioned, “Is that where you went earlier? To [xxx]’s cottage?”

The latter nodded, causing his bangs falling into his eyes. He used a hand to swipe it to the side and began to explain again. “Yeah...but L approached her before I could. I didn’t realise he was around too.”

“Oh...” Sungjong trailed off. “Myungsoo hyung bought her home to feed her. Apparently she was hunting for a wild boar.” Woohyun nodded, “Yeah, no wonder she was hanging around there... I actually kicked a stone at the animal to make it scurry off. I thought she was waiting for it to leave...and the next thing I knew, L appeared behind her and they started talking.”

“I guess L hyung has a thing for her too? ...Or maybe he bumped into her and wanted to say hi,” Sungjong suggested. Woohyun shrugged for the umpteenth time. “I don’t know.”

“...Were you...jealous?” The younger boy curiously asked. “No...I just...I don’t know. I was thinking about her on the way home...and...I just feel like I shouldn’t get too close to her.”

“Why’s that?” Sungjong persisted. “Because...what if I...” Woohyun trailed off. Sungjong arched his eyebrow again and repeated, “What if you...what?”

“What if I...fall for her?” The elder sighed once more.

“I don’t find that necessarily a bad thing,” Sungjong replied in truth and shrugged. “You can’t help with who you fall for.” His hyung nodded his head slowly in reply.

The atmosphere became quiet afterwards, just like before. Now Sungjong was the one thinking this time, whilst Woohyun absorbed in everything the younger boy had said to him.

‘You can’t help with who you fall for,’ it repeated in his head. ‘Well I guess there’s no point in avoiding her then,’ Woohyun thought.

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Photo: Edited by your's truly.

Just a short chapter for you lovely readers~