“I'm home!” Hakyeon shouted as soon as he opened the door of his home.

He was living in a rich neighborhood of Seoul, not so far from the school and next to the University of Seoul, the one Hakyeon wanted to go after high school. His house was nice too: it wasn't too big yet it was very modern and everything seemed really expensive.

He invited her to enter but she didn't feel right. Yet, she wasn't going to stay into the cold outside. She let her shoes into the hall and followed him inside, looking at the decoration with curiosity.

“Mom?” Hakyeon left his blazer on the coat rail and put his bag on the sofa, “are you home?”

“I am,” a clear voice came from another room, “in the kitchen!”

“I've got a guest!”

It took only a few seconds before Mrs. Cha appeared into the living room. When she saw Byeol, she grinned and walked toward her. Byeol blushed like crazy and did a 90° bow.

Mrs. Cha was tall and thin. Just like her son, she had a beautiful sun-kissed skin and she had straight long dark brown hair falling into her back. She had black pearl instead of her and she had a big white smile. She was really beautiful and she looked like she was taking really good care of herself. Yet, she was wearing a simple black skirt with a white tee which was nothing fancy and expensive.

“Hakyeon,” his mother sent her son an obvious smile, “you didn't tell me you would have someone with you.”

“I've decided it at the last minutes. Mom, this is Kim Byeol. Byeol, this is my mom.”

“Nice to meet you,” Byeol managed to say and bowed her head, “my name is Kim Byeol.”

“You're so pretty!” Mrs. Cha pinched her cheeks, “You never told me you had such a pretty friend,” she told her son.

“Well, I tend to keep those kinds of secrets to myself,” he playfully answered.

“Are you going to stay here to eat with us? It's quite late now.”

“N-no I'm not,” Byeol stuttered, “I don't want to bother and-”

“You won't be! Don't worry!”

“No no but I don't want to impose myself, really and-”

“Mom,” Hakyeon who understood her malaise cut Byeol,” she won't stay here, her brother is going to kill me if I don't bring her back home soon. She is just here to pick her blazer.”

“Oh!” Mrs. Cha clapped her hands, “it's yours! Finally this blazer has an owner! I ended up thinking Hakyeon liked to cross-dress as a girl,” she chuckled and somehow, she managed to make Byeol laughed. Hakyeon wanted to complain about those stupid reflexions but Byeol's laugh was so precious that he didn't want to stop her. “Or I thought he had bought his girlfriend home with telling me. I'm glad to know it's not the case.”

Byeol smiled.

“So you are in Hakyeon's school?”

“I am but... but I'm only in eleventh grade.”

“Oh my! You're so cute!”

“Mom...” Hakyeon cleared his throat.

“What?” Mrs. Cha asked him, “it's the first time I'm meeting one of your friend who is first, not Jaehwan or Sanghyuk and second, who is a girl. Let me appreciate this a bit!”

“But mom... you're really embarrassing yourself...”

“Tsk! What are you talking about?” Mrs. Cha gently slapped his shoulder, “I'm not, I'm embarrassing you,” she laughed and Byeol chuckled.

“Well,” Hakyeon rolled his eyes, “let's go Byeol.”

“Where is she going?” Mrs. Cha asked, “just go and bring her blazer, a gentleman should bring his lady everything, she shouldn't have to go and grab it herself. Aish... dear, what have I taught this boy?” she rolled her eyes, “go, go now!”

Hakyeon obeyed her and disappeared upstairs.

“Hakyeon doesn't bother you, right?” she smiled, “I know this boy can be really annoying and can act really like a child.”

“N-no Hakyeon sunbae is really nice to me,” she lied yet it didn't really feel like a lie, even for herself.

“Hum, you're probably telling me this because I'm his mother. Don't be ashamed of telling me the truth!”

“I won't dare lying to you,” she smiled.

Hakyeon came back and handed Byeol a plastic bag with her blazer inside. She thanked him with a smile.

“We're going now,” Hakyeon told his mother.

“Are you sure you don't want to eat with us, Byeol dear?”

“Mom, she must go home.”

“Alright, alright,” Mrs. Cha sighed and quickly hugged Byeol, “come back whenever you want, alright? I'll be happy to share more embarrassing stories about Hakyeon.”

“I'll come back for sure then,” Byeol laughed.

“Alright, let's go,” the concerned boy pushed Byeol toward the exit.

She bowed to his mother to greet and then they left the house.

“You're mother is really adorable,” Byeol smiled, “I wish mine was like her.”

“She likes to make fun of her children.”

“But she loves you and doesn't want to kick you out, at least...”

“What do you mean?” Hakyeon frowned.

Because of a red light, he stopped the car and looked at her. She kept looking at the road and simply shrugged.

“My mother... before the trip to the mountains, I begged her not to send me because I really didn't want to go. And she ended up saying I was just a child with some imaginary mental troubles who was just driving her crazy and she said she wanted me to go to the trip because she didn't want to be with me and wanted to have time with her family.”

“Byeol I... I'm sorry...” Hakyeon said since he didn't really know what else to say.

“Well,” she simply shrugged but her voice trembled, “I understand her... I mean... my step-father and Hongbin are her new family and I'm the only remaining part of her former family, the one she left when she divorced my father. So I guess it's alright for her not to consider me as being part of her family.”

“No it's not alright,” Hakyeon shook his head and carried on driving since the light was now green, “it's not alright at all. You're her daughter and she's your mom. She should accept you and try to help you instead of dragging you down. When I entered high school, I went through a lot of hardships. I was chubby and short so the others were calling me ugly and fatty. I was really lacking of self-confidence and was bullied. But my mother helped me, she told me to fight back and to argue even if I was going to have troubles, she wanted me to show the bullies I was stronger and cleverer than them. So I started exercising and lost some weight and I gained confidence. No matter what I was doing, my mother had always been behind my back to support me. And now, well... puberty did its job and I fortunately grew up and became handsome, so it helps but I'm confident in myself and know I'm going to succeed no matter what I do.”

“I guess your ego grew up a lot too,” Byeol chuckled and shook her head.

He smiled.

“What about your father?”

“He spends his days at his office or abroad, “Hakyeon simply shrugged, “but I know he really cares about my sister and I.”

“You have a sister?” she asked, surprised.

“Yes, Hani, she is fifteen and will enter high school next year.”

“I-I didn't know.”

“Only people who care about me can know, I guess.”

Byeol didn't really understand the meaning of his words so she didn't say anything and kept looking at the road. Soon after, they finally reached her home.

“Nobody's home,” she sighed when she didn't see any lights coming from the inside, “well, anyway, thank you very much for-”

“Do you want me to stay with you?”

“What?” she titled her head.

“I mean,” he cleared his throat, “I don't want you to stay alone so maybe I can stay with you until your parents came back.”

“Oh no you don't have to, don't worry, I'll be fine and your mother is waiting for you to come back.”

“I can just call her and-”

“I'll be going now,” she cut him and smiled, “goodbye.”

“Yes, goodbye,” he said, defeated.

She left the car and walked toward her house. He waited for her to be inside ad then left. Yet, because he was really worried about her being alone, he turned around and parked in front of her house once again. He knocked and the door and when she opened, he entered the house and hugged her. She gasped, really surprised, and tried to get free of his embrace but the more she was moving, the more he was hugging her.

“Sunbae what are-”

“Don't say anything,” he whispered against her neck, “just stay like this and enjoy.”

*

“Hakyeon!” his dance instructor shouted to catch the boy's attention, “you're still not listening to me!”

“I-I am sorry,” Hakyeon bowed his head, “I'll concentrate now.”

His dance instructor sighed and put his hands on his waist, before he turned off the music. He walked toward Hakyeon who thought was about to be tortured but instead, Heechul simply ruffled his hair. Hakyeon laughed along with his instructor and then Heechul walked toward the big wall made entirely of tainted glass: they could see what was going on outside but no one could see what they were doing inside.

“Let's see,” the older man smirked, “what could possibly be more interesting than my lessons?”

“N-nothing,” Hakyeon gulped and sightly blushed while he stepped next to Heechul.

Because Hakyeon was having private lessons, he wasn't dancing with the other students in a studio downstairs, but he was training in a special room which was at the last floor of the building. And from this room, he could see young children and teens who weren't older than him playing the piano. At first, Hakyeon didn't really pay attention to them, but one day, a young girl with a slim face and a beautiful big grin had appeared and she was playing like a genius. In only a few weeks, she had managed to catch his attention and even succeeded to make him be highly distracted from his lessons. This girl was having his lessons with the teacher and some other young pianists, and then whenever they were all gone, another teacher was coming and they were having private lessons. So whenever Hakyeon was done with his own dancing sessions, he was staying a bit longer into the room just to watch and listen to her.

“Her name is Kim Byeol,” Heechul folded his arms over his chest and designed the girl who was playing a very complicated yet beautiful piece with his head.

“W-what?”

“The girl who is playing, the one you keep looking at, her name is Kim Byeol.”

“Byeol,” Hakyeon breathed out and smiled, “that's a beautiful name.”

“A beautiful name for a beautiful girl,” Heechul playfully elbowed her.

“How... how do you know her?”

“She's my friend's younger sister. Since you've been here for quite a while now, you must know Kim Ryeowook, right?” Hakyeon nodded, “well, she's his sister.”

“Does she sing as well as he does?”

“She is even better, but please don't tell anyone I said that, Ryeowook would be mad at me otherwise.”

“O-oh okay, I won't tell anyone.”

“Alright,” Heechul patted his shoulder, “I'll be going home now, you should leave too.”

“I will,” Hakyeon assured, “I will.”

Heechul took his bag, waved at his student and left Hakyeon alone behind the glass while he was staring at Kim Byeol. When Heechul left, she stopped playing and bowed her head. He stopped to tell her a few words and she nodded while smiling.

Her smile.

When Heechul finally left, she waved at him and started playing again, her teacher listening to her and giving her the best advices for her to be even better than she actually was.

After twenty minutes he had to leave because of his mother calling for him. But he really wanted to stay just to look at her. He took his bag and walked out of the room. When he closed the door, she stopped and looked at him. For a short while, they looked at each other and even when he looked away he could feel her eyes on him.

“Oh! Hakyeon!” Byeol's teacher smiled, “are we bothering you?”

“N-not at all,” he said, not daring to actually look at her.

“Are you leaving?”

“Yes I am...”

“Then have a good night.”

Hakyeon bowed his head and quickly looked at her. She was smiling, and she was actually smiling at him.

From this day, he kept observing her from afar and actually never dared to talk to her.

Important chapter ! Indeed, we finally know why Hakyeon and Byeol 'know' each other ( though it's more like he knows her). 

I hope you liked it ! If so, please leave me a comment to share your opinion about this chapter (or about the whole story if you want.) You can also ask questions if you have some.

I have one to ask you : Who do you want Byeol to end up with ? 

It may sounds like a stupid question and personnaly, I still don't know what to do.

Hakyeon ? Taekwoon ? None of them ? Someone else ?

Please tell me, your words count !

Thx you :)

xx

Mae