"There are all kinds of love in this world, but never the same love twice."

— F Scott Fitzgerald

For the longest time, Su Min laid in bed and stared blankly into space, just listening to the sound of her own breathing. Her mind was occupied—if it was even possible—with everything and nothing at the same time. It was plagued with questions that had no answers, past decisions made without much thought, and regrets felt a little too late.

She had always known history repeated itself…but she didn’t realize, until now, that the second time around was so much more painful than the first.

|| …………… ||

Less than a week before her departure, a special someone dropped by unannounced. After somehow learning the news that she and Chanyeol were trying to keep a secret, he took the first plane back to Korea to relay what she hoped, was a simple congratulatory message.

As Su Min got into the taxi on her way to work, another person boarded right after her, catching her by surprise. "Oh my god!" she screamed and instinctively readied herself to throw a hundred aimless punches at the stranger.

Thankfully, she glanced at the man beside her before launching her initial attack.

Despite blocking his face with tightly crossed arms, it only took her half a second to recognize those familiar almond shaped eyes of his. "Holy—! Oppa!" she yelled as she lowered her fisted hands back down to her side.

"Yo!" her brother greeted with a cheeky smile and a childish peace sign.

"Wha—wha—what are you doing here?" Su Min struggled to ask as she stared at him, wide-eyed and in complete disbelief.

Just then, the confused cab driver cleared his throat and peered over his shoulder with a puzzled look, waiting for directions.

Su Min gave him an embarrassed and apologetic bow. "I’m sorry. To SM Entertainment please," she instructed.

"Actually, no," Kang Joon interrupted and gave the man a new order, "please drop us off at the nearest café."

The driver shook his head, thinking how unlucky he was to have picked up a bickering couple so early in the morning. "Yes, sir," he grumbled unenthusiastically before driving off.

Taking in a deep breath, Su Min turned to her brother and repeated her question from earlier, only this time, she asked him with a much calmer voice, "What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in Barcelona right now?"

"You know, I should be…but for some strange reason, I booked the wrong flight and accidently boarded the first one heading to Seoul," he answered sarcastically as he buckled his seatbelt.

It wasn’t like Kang Joon to skip out on work, so the fact that he did could only mean…

Her brother let out a heavy sigh and lowered his head, letting his eyes settle on his fidgeting fingers. "I guess somewhere deep within my heart, I just knew—like any caring brother would—that my darling little sister had something very important to tell me," he continued, keeping up the act.

"Some—something important? Like what?" Su Min asked carefully while masking her nervousness with false innocence.

Kang Joon adjusted himself and leaned back against the leather cushion. "Well, for example, I heard you were heading back to New York," he answered.

"…Ah that," she breathed out with a nod.

"Yeah…and I figured, you know…since I wasn’t going to see him again for a long long time, I should keep my word and beat the crap out of him while you’re still here," he stated calmly as he massaged his now fisted hand.

"Oppa…" Su Min called with audible fear and worry.

Her expression must have been of true horror because her dear brother soon exploded with laughter. She glared at him and sighed. It was honestly becoming harder and harder to tell when he's joking and when he's serious.

After catching his breath, Kang Joon turned his body toward her. His childish smile and playful attitude was no longer present, and had instead been replaced with a nerve-racking expression—one that signaled it was time to talk about the real reason he flew halfway across the world to see her. With his serious gaze locked on hers, Kang Joon finished with the topic she had been anticipating. "I also got a call from your best friend the other night…" he started, "or should I say fiancé?"

|| Café de Paris ||

"So you finally decided," her brother stated as he lifted the cup of Americano to his lips.

"I did," Su Min confirmed with forced excitement while showing him the ring on her finger.

Kang Joon flashed a soft grin and sat back, crossing his leg over the other, "Congratulations."

"Thanks," she replied and returned the same smile—one that was followed by a brief moment of silence.

Su Min took a sip of her drink and nervously played with the plastic cup, before asking the question that just now popped in her head. "Oppa…you haven’t told mom and dad…have you?" she inquired carefully.

"Of course not!" her brother bellowed, slamming his palm on the table as he leaned forward. "I wouldn’t dare take that honor away from you. Although…I am a little upset that you’ll be tying the knot before me," he added, making the both of them laugh.

"Thank you oppa," she responded, this time with a genuine smile.

Kang Joon shook his head to dismiss her gratitude and sat back on his seat once more. "But as compensation, you have to tell me. How did Chanyeol propose?" he asked with a teasing smirk.

"Why? Are you planning to do same? Sometime not in the near future?" she countered playfully,