Misun literally had to go through hell the next few days. Ever since Sehun subtly confessed his interest in her, she had been finding it difficult not to blush in front of him. Her hands happened to shake and drop whatever she was carrying whenever both of them were in close proximity to each other. To make matters worse, she also had trouble keeping a straight face around Kris too. Because she felt that feeling this way towards Sehun without letting Kris know beforehand was wrong. Never in her life had she kept things from Kris and the fact that both she and Sehun were interested in each other and that Kris knew nothing about it made her feel bad. But at the same time, Misun was afraid of talking to Kris about her feelings.  What if he is against it?

Kris has every right to object the relationship because of what happened with Jongin…….The logical part of her mind mused.

Misun also spent a lot of sleepless nights wondering the consequences if she ended up in a relationship with Sehun. What if he leaves her after a couple of years when he finds something else to replace her? She won’t be able to withstand another breakup for sure.

Sehun is not that kind of a person.

But Misun thought the same way about Jongin too. She always thought that Jongin was the best guy in the world and that she was lucky enough to be his girlfriend. But what happened to their relationship was definitely not something she wanted happening again in her life.

A week after Sehun’s direct yet indirect confession, he cornered Misun near the front gate of her house.

“Okay, this is seriously getting out of hand.” He said, not hiding the fact that he was frustrated.

“What is getting out of hand?” Misun asked, not meeting his eyes. It suddenly became extremely hot around her neck and the fact that Sehun was towering over her didn’t help at all to improve the situation.

“Misun!” Sehun groaned with a pained expression. “I have had enough okay? stop avoiding me!”

“I’m not avoiding anyone.” Misun stated, still trying hard not to meet Sehun’s eyes.

“Oh yeah? Then please explain why you didn’t accompany me to the market the otherday?” Sehun demanded.

“I was not feeling well.” Misun recited. She already had expected him to corner her like this and had practiced well as to what to say if that actually happened.

“Okay, why did you reject my offer of watching TV together yesterday?”

“I was not in the mood.”

Misun looked up when she didn’t receive any reply from Sehun to what she said and regretted her action. He was smiling at her as though he had just realized something. Misun quickly looked down having blushed furiously at Sehun’s smiling face.

“I can be quite naïve at times.” Sehun chuckled. He then gently held her chin between his index finger and thumb and gently lifted her face upwards so that he can look at it.

“Are you acting this way because of what I said that day?” He asked.

Misun didn’t reply but continued to look at him.

“Come on , you idiot! I said that only because I wanted you to know. I thought we should not keep secrets from each other.” When Misun still didn’t reply, he continued. “ it’s not something you have to worry about, alright? It’s something that concerns only me because it’s what I feel for you and I know full well how to take care of it. Meanwhile, let’s just be friends okay? Don’t burden yourself with unnecessary thoughts because it’s taking a toll on our relationship.”

“Okay.” Misun nodded and Sehun smiled widely.

“Close your eyes and  give me your hand.” Sehun ordered.

“What for?” Misun asked suspiciously.

“Just do what I say.” He ordered again.

Misun obliged and stretched her hands forward. Sehun placed something on it and Misun opened it and found that it was an official looking envelope.

“What is this?” She asked curiously.

“Open it and find out.” Sehun smiled.

“But it has your address in the front.”

“I would like you to open it for me.” Sehun pressed. Misun obeyed and gently pulled the flap open with her fingers. Inside was a creamy paper folded neatly to fit the envelope’s proportions. She took it out.

Misun’s eyes slid over what was written there and her eyes became so round with each passing line that Sehun got slightly alarmed at her reaction.

“It says in here that you got the patent for purple apple breeding method!” She shrieked.

“Yes, I did!” Sehun shouted gleefully in response. “Can I have a congratulatory hug?” He asked spreading his arms wide and Misun simply couldn’t resist his offer. She closed the space between them and hugged Sehun around the waist. Sehun hugged her back tightly and slightly lifted her off her feet in the process.

“I’m really happy for you, Hun!” Misun cried.

“Thank you, Sweetheart.” Sehun said and Misun felt like her insides have melted. He had never called her like that before and unknowingly smiled.

“Shall I  call you sweetheart from now on then?” Sehun mocked.

“What makes you say that I like it?” Misun snapped at him unaware of her betraying facial expressions.

“You are smiling like an idiot.” Sehun said as though he was pointing out the obvious. Misun so wanted to hit herself then, but somehow held it in.

“So what is your plan next?” She said in an attempt to change the topic, because Sehun looked like he wanted to make more fun of her.

“Well, D.O Hyung called me in the morning to let me know that the facility wants me to start marketing the fruit and see how well it fares.”

“So what if it does sell well?” Misun asked curiously. She was quite concerned about the fate of the best apple breed in the world.

“If it makes an average profit greater than that of the normal apples, then we will introduce them officially in all markets. We will be selling these apples at quite a lower price than the normal apples. We also have already tested the fruit out and it has zero side effects.” Sehun beamed.

“I’m really proud of you, Sehun.” Misun cooed and grabbed  his huge hands in hers.

“I was not planning on getting a patent myself. But D.O Hyung thought that it would be a waste if someone else claims the patent for themselves for all my hardwork. So, he applied for it in my name.” Sehun said, with a lot of respect coloring his tone. He always had immense respect for his Hyungs.

“So when are we going to start marketing the apples?” Misun asked as they came back into the house.

“If you are okay with it, we can start marketing it today.” Sehun said briskly. “But let’s get breakfast first.”

“Ofcourse I am okay with it!” Misun exclaimed. Both of them broke the subject to Kris, who celebrated the news with them both and congratulated Sehun heartily. He promised that he would get them a bottle of wine for the night before he left for work.

“Kris does that only for people whom he really cares for, you know.” Misun said fondly as she looked at Kris’s retreating back.

Sehun looked at Kris too, but his mind was elsewhere. How would Kris react if Sehun told him that he is in love with his sister?

Sehun had a brief vision of Kris punching his face and dragging him out of the house by the collar of his shirt. Sehun shuddered at the thought and forced his mind to show him a happy teary eyed Kris hugging both him and Misun and giving them his blessings. Sehun automatically gagged at the thought. It was way too cheesy for his taste.

“If you are done daydreaming,” Misun cleared , thereby bringing Sehun back to the present. “We can start working.”

“What? Oh-oh yeah.” Sehun mumbled and got up. Misun followed him out. Both of them spent the next one hour picking a fresh batch of apples from the orchard and filling them in wooden crates and then transporting them to the market where they had rented a s