Kyungha’s noticed a difference between their dynamic. Ever since Sehun’s taken her out for dinner last week, he’s constantly been in her space.

For one, he’s upped the number of times he texts her on a daily basis. She’s flabbergasted by the number of times he’s surprised her by the sheer number of text messages he sends.

Morning, sweetheart

It’s four. In the morning.

Go to sleep

Why are YOU still up?

Why do you ask so many questions?

I just got off of work

Just wanted to talk to you a bit before I sleep

K

Did you just ‘k’ me

The audacity

Leaving me on read?

Sweetheart

Which tie looks better

Neither

They look equally offsetting

much?

Thanks

The pleasure’s all mine

How about this one? I like blue. You like blue.

It looks good

Are you being

Nice

Oh come on

Don’t leave me on read

Kyungha’s never had any friends. The gifted kids at her school were too competitive, and when the adults forced them to work together, it always ended up in bloodshed. Therefore, the girl’s gotten used to being alone and doing everything by herself.

Which is why Sehun’s existence pushes her out of her comfort zone. Being around him felt like she was in another world. And Kyungha’s been doing that a lot lately.

Kyungha slaps at her forearm, flicking the mosquito away. She inhales the air, sticky with moisture. The moon is bright. She turns her eyes away for a split second as Sehun’s car pulls up in her driveway.

Her eyes shoot back once he kills his engine. Kyungha jumps up to her feet, watching the man beam at her per usual.

“What’s for dinner?” He asks casually.

She grunts, “I waited twenty minutes.”

He throws his arm over her shoulder. At this point, he’s had his arms all over her that Kyungha was no longer surprised by his touchiness. In fact, she actually anticipated it. “Sorry, sweetheart. I tried to come as fast as I could.”

Kyungha rolls her eyes. “I think you’re better off starving. I’m shaving away precious sleep.”

Sehun’s been having Kyungsoo’s leftovers from dinner. He usually comes to their house after his shift ends. Some days he actually comes to join them for dinner before he has a night shift. Other nights, he comes in the early mornings when the whole house is asleep, except for Kyungha since she doesn’t have a regular sleeping schedule.

She plops down in the seat beside him on the kitchen island.

“Sweet, you heated everything up for me?” He whistles in appreciation. Kyungha stares at her fingers. “What did you do today?”

“The usual. I watched videos and read up on medical discoveries,” she explains half-heartedly.

Whether she liked it or not, Sehun always focused his sole attention on her when they were together. She wasn’t used to it. As Kyungha got older, Kyungsoo and her mother’s attention diminished, and they never really took the time to really listen to her. Of course, when Jungkook was adopted, Kyungsoo had to focus his attention on his son.

She never complained because she understood why her family did it, and she wasn’t petty. She didn't need attention. Kyungha only needed herself. She was good at being independent.

Until Sehun began to stuck around. He was like gum. No matter where she went, he’d always be two or three steps behind.

He was the only person who listened to her speak—no matter if she was insulting him or giving him vague answers. He’d always seem to understand what she meant without any extra clarification.

Kyungha didn’t understand him. What was his true intent of getting close to her?

Sehun tsks. “You’re such a cute lil’ nerd.”

“Stop treating me like I’m a child,” she warns, glaring at him intently.

“Oh, sweetheart, when will you learn the fact that you aren’t threatening no matter how hard you try to be?” He teases her with his usual smirk. Kyungha ignores him. He shovels in a big scoop of rice. “Wanna know what I did today?” He asks through a mouthful.

She shakes her head in disgust, reaching a finger to brush a piece of rice stuck on the corner of his mouth. Kyungha lets out a snort when he leans closer to make her job easier. It was like he knew what she was going to do. She couldn’t understand how she felt a mixture of annoyance and adoration. This was the last thing she should’ve been feeling. There was something wrong with her.

He continues speaking as if nothing’s happened, “I assisted in a bypass surgery today. It was heart surgery.” He took a deep breath before imploring, “I watched a little boy’s heart beat again. It was amazing. I wasn’t the lead surgeon, but my heart raced. We saved someone’s life—a child’s life. I watched my colleague turn a sickly boy who had no future into a boy who had the endless potential to do whatever the hell he wants.” Sehun bites his lips. “I think I know which surgical department I want to go in.”

Kyungha watches the way Sehun’s eyes glimmer—the passion he held in his words. The grit in his voice—the sheer conviction of his decision. She was in awe of him. She’s never seen confidence quite like him.

It wasn’t overconfidence—he didn't believe that he had to have that future he imagines. But it wasn’t baseless confidence either—Sehun believed that he could work toward it. He was humble, and she admired that about him. Kyungha didn’t need to think anymore. Oh Sehun was the most genuine person she’s ever met, and maybe, he wasn’t so bad after all.

Kyungha didn’t need him to tell her. She already knew. “Let me guess: you want to become a pediatric surgeon?”

He beams, “exactly. You know me so well, sweetheart.”

Before she could stop herself, an honest smile curved on her lips. Sehun blinks, and Kyungha shyly covers with her sleeve. Darting her eyes away from him, she stammers, “what?”

He clears his throat and continues to eat. “Nothing. I just realized I’m an idiot.”

Kyungha scoffs quietly. “What are you talking about?”

“You’re ing beautiful.” He pauses, letting out an airy laugh that sends chills up her spine. "I should’ve told you this the moment I met you during Kyungsoo’s wedding.”

A stampede of butterflies threatens to shatter her abdominal wall. “Eat your food. I wanna show you something cool.”

Kyungha had no choice. He made her feel girly—every instinct she had as a female always came out whenever he was around. She didn't want this to inhibit their friendship. Because before she knew it, Sehun’s become an important person in her life: her very first friend. And she’d be damned if she lost that.

So, she changed the topic, and Sehun didn't look too bothered by it, so Kyungha attempted to think nothing of it, even if her heart had regarded his words personally.

Sehun’s hands feel warm in hers as she drags him upstairs into her room. He entertains her with an amused expression.

She pushes him on her bed, extending her long legs across her room to turn on her night lamp. Then, she grabbed her newest edition of the Atlas of Human Anatomy. Sehun shakes his head, laughing at her excitement.

“Jongin got it for me as a graduation gift. Isn’t it neat?” She asks, flipping through the heavy book.

Sehun hums, “if I remembered correctly, he also got you a Gucci purse and several other expensive gifts?”

Kyungha shrugs, “I like them…”

He lifts a brow. “Right, of course. I believe you.”

“Do you?” She mocks.

“Nope.”

The younger girl elbows him in the rib. She watches him groan in pain, clutching his side. Ignoring him, she continues to flip through the book, absorbing the precise illustrations of the human body.

Sehun adjusts himself again, this time, sitting closer to her. He makes several comments now and then when they come across something interesting. Kyungha doesn’t notice how close they are because she’s fascinated by the book.

Later, she feels slow, steady breathing blow past her cheek. Turning her head an inch, she sees Sehun nod off, his head bobbling around.

Kyungha purses her lips. She didn’t have the heart to kick him out since it was really late in the first place. She felt kind of bad for making him stay up with her after he finished eating. She drops her anatomy book in a convenient spot on the floor. She shakes his shoulder gently. “Hoon,” she calls.

He blinks awake. “Hmm?” His voice is heavy with sleep. “Sorry, I should go—“

Kyungha sighs. “That's not—“ She stops when he begins to fall asleep again. “Lay down,” she whispers. He doesn’t budge, so Kyungha attempts to pull him down in a comfortable position. Sehun eventually slips down, lying on his side with his face toward her.

She pulls out her phone, scrolling through her social media feeds until her eyes grow heavy. Eventually, she feels herself being lulled to sleep by the warmth of his body next to her and his soft breathing.

“What the fu—!” Kyungha’s eyes shoot open at the sound of a juvenile shriek. She feels the presence of soft hair tickling her chin. Still disoriented from sleep, she doesn’t realize what’s going on and why there’s yelling.

The girl tries to move her body but her arm is stuck. When her vision clears, her heart almost leaps out of her chest. Sehun is lying on her arm, and she’s practically spooning him with her other arm tight around his waist.

And that’s when it hits her. His waist is bare. Actually—scrap that—his whole entire upper body is bare.

Kyungha lets out a silent panicked scream as she takes in her surroundings. Sometime during their slumber, the space between them diminished to nothing, and Kyungha is currently losing her head about accidentally spooning him.

But she has another problem. Kyungha cranes her neck to see two boys staring at them with gaping mouths and bugging eyes.

“Noona?” Jungkook asks, voice unsteady.

She smiles cautiously. "It's not what it looks like. We didn’t—nothing happened,” she explains frantically.

Taeyong laughs haughtily. “You're lying!”

“Shut up, Tae. I haven’t had enough coffee to deal with your ,” Kyungha spats.

He sticks his tongue out. “Do you wanna know my secret, noona? I catch mommy and daddy like this all the time. J, this is how you blackmail. Listen—”

Kyungha scoffs, “are you—are you threatening me right now?” Gods, she did not live long enough to be blackmailed by a four-year-old.

Sehun groans. Then, he turns on his side. But instead of waking up like a normal person, he buries his face in her neck, his hand settling just below the curve of her . “You smell good.” His voice is barely audible, and Kyungha’s probably the only one who heard it. Her stomach flips. She shuts her eyes, breathing in and out.

She was in some deep .

Kyungha will never, ever verbally admit to anyone that she just got blackmailed by her nephew. The only good thing that came out of it was the Taeyong’s quick instincts to distract Kyungsoo and Jongin as Jungkook attempted to sneak Sehun out of his window.

When the three accomplish their mission, Kyungha retreats to her room with Taeyong’s evil eyes following her. She shivers, scared to find out what the little boy has up his sleeve.

When she finishes getting ready, she goes back downstairs to see their dining table set. She finds her older brother standing in their doorway. “What are you doing?” She asks, approaching her brother.

Kyungha watches a familiar car pull up into their driveway. “I’m waiting for Hae and Baekhyun,” he answers. The front door opens and a bouncing eight-year-old girl hops out of the back seat.

“Kyungie!” Soleil cries in her cute excitement. She rushes up to Kyungha and wraps her short arms around the taller girl’s waist. Kyungha smiles down, ruffling her hair.

Haeeun smiles adoringly in their direction. “Where’s my little boy?” The older woman proceeds to ask, bending to look behind them.

“Mommy!” Taeyong screams in his loud toddler voice when he senses her presence. Haeeun giggles, throwing her arms out around her son.

Baekhyun greets, “morning, guys.”

Kyungsoo waves back. “Morning. We’re just waiting on Sehun. He said he’d be here in fifteen.”

Kyungha freezes at the mention of his name. Taeyong whips his head around with intent, his eyes gleaming with pure mischief. She squirms uncomfortably. Ah, so this is what it feels like to be held at gunpoint by a toddler.

The whole crew settles inside of Kyungsoo’s house, and Jongin is horsing around with Soleil.

“Jongin, she’s going to vomit her entire insides if you keep throwing her around like that,” Baekhyun says, his hands fidgeting in his lap.

Haeeun snorts, “Bae, relax.”

Taeyong is snuggled up on his mom’s lap. Baekhyun glances between Jongin and Haeeun, the very people holding his children.

“Do I not get any love from anyone?” He deadpans.

Kyungsoo chuckles. “It’s probably because you're always away. Jungkook was like that with Jongin a lot in the beginning.”

Haeeun hums, “but it looks like he’s pretty comfortable with Kyungha.”

Everyone blinks in her direction, and she is suddenly uncomfortable with the attention from everyone. Jungkook grins, snuggling closer to her side. “That’s ‘cuz Noona’s my favorite person.”

Jongin pretends to be hurt. “I thought I was your favorite? Son, you hurt me.”

“Erm—sorry?” Jungkook doesn’t look very apologetic.

Kyungsoo pats his husband on the back. “It’s okay. You’ve got me.”

Kyungha pretends to vomit, making Jungkook laugh beside her. “I’m sorry, but I will never get used to the psychological lie called love.”

“I’m here!” Sehun shouts, waving his hands boisterously.

Kyungsoo sputters out of his seat. “How the hell did you get into my house?”

At the same time, Kyungha shoots up from her seat, startling Jungkook. “! Did you steal my key?” Out of habit, she stomps over to him. Ignoring her spout, he ruffles her hair with a boyish grin.

“I didn't steal it. You left it in my car, idiot.”

The two don’t realize that everyone is watching them with curious eyes. Kyungha backs away from Sehun when it comes to her knowledge that again, she's the center of attention.

Haeeun chuckles. “Since when did you guys become so close?”

“We’re not,” Kyungha blurts.

Kyungsoo narrows his eyes suspiciously but doesn’t say anything. Jongin cuts in, instead, “honey, in my years of dating your brother, I’ve never heard you raised your voice. The both of you must be really close.”

Sehun plays it off. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just that charming. Anyway, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m starving. Where’s the food?”

Line, sinker, and hook. Sehun's managed to change the subject without raising any suspicion. Kyungha is, again, astonished by his quick wits.

Everyone migrates to the dining table, and Sehun occupies the seat next to her as if it’s the most natural movement next to blinking.

Throughout dinner, there is small talk and heavy chattering regarding Jongin’s newest project and Kyungsoo and Haeeun’s gushing over their students.

To her surprise, Sehun doesn’t participate in the conversations as much as he usually does and resorts to joking around with Kyungha the whole time.

She spends the whole time, looking after him—whether it be handing him a napkin or reminding him to chew. The two of them are acting awfully chummy, but if anyone’s noticed, nobody’s said anything about it.

When it gets to the conversation about everyone’s plans for the rest of the day, Taeyong’s scheming brain cuts into the conversation. “Kyungha noona promised she’d take J, Sol noona, and me out!”

Baekhyun glares at his son. “Tae, no—she might be busy.”

Taeyong simply smiles, but his posture reveals that he is overconfident. Sehun and Kyungha pause in their seats at the same time.

Kyungha smiles rigidly, waving her hand dismissively. “It’s okay, Baekhyun. Tae’s right. I promised I would take them out.”

“You did?” Soleil asks, frowning in confusion.

Jungkook and Taeyong exchange sneaky smirks. “She did,” Jungkook affirms. She shoots her nephew an I-thought-you-were-on-my-side look.

Cheekily, he mouths too bad, but it goes unnoticed to others.

Haeeun drawls, “I’m sure that would be fine, but Kyungha can’t drive. How can she take you guys out?”

“I could drive them around. I have the day off anyway,” Sehun offers.

Haeeun grows excited. “Really? , babe. We could totally go on a date today.” She turns to Baekhyun who smiles adoringly at her.

Jongin and Kyungsoo share a similar look as if they’ve collectively made a decision to go on a date too. Kyungha rolls her eyes. Couples and their stupid telepathy.

“Just so you know, this is your fault,” she snaps when Sehun reaches over her to buckle her seatbelt. “And I could’ve done that myself,” she adds, glaring at him. Her nose tingles at the brief waft of his familiar masculine scent.

“Kyungha and Sehun kissing in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G—“ Soleil begins to sing aloud, but she stops when Kyungha snaps her head back to send her a homicidal glare.

Sehun lets out a guttural laugh. “Would you care to tell me what I’ve done wrong this time?”

She leans back into her seat, arms crossed. “Why the hell were you only in your boxers this morning?”

He starts the engine. “I’ve worn those scrubs for an entire day, and it was hot. Besides, what’s the harm? We get to hang out with these adorable kids.”

Taeyong’s head pops up between them. “Did you hear that, Noona? You better be grateful that I didn’t let out a peep.”

Kyungha holds her head in exasperation. “Tae, get your back in that car seat before I kick you out of this moving vehicle.”

“Yes, mam.”

“So, are you guys boyfriend-girlfriend or something?” Soleil asks.

Jungkook hums, “Sol, how else would you explain Noona and Hyung in bed together?”

Kyungha groans, “to sleep! Hello? Since when did two people sharing a bed have connotations of them being a relationship? Jungkook, you and Tae have sleepovers all the time!”

“But you aren’t exactly two straight boys either,” Jungkook digresses, ignoring Taeyong’s spouting, “how dare you assume my ual oreentashun?"

“Don't get smart with me, punk,” she threatens Jungkook, cracking her knuckles, and then corrects Taeyong, “and you pronounce it as orientation.”

Sehun envelops her hands, momentarily distracting her. She stares at his fingers caressing her closed fist, speechless. “You’re so feisty, sweetheart. Cute.”

Soleil ponders, “Hoonie, are you sure you’re not dating Kyungie?”

Kyungha interjects, “we’re not dating, goddamn it."

“Don’t swear the lord’s name in vain!” Taeyong shouts.

She sighs. “Sol, tell your mom to stop letting Taeyong watch so much damn TV.”

Soleil giggles, “can’t. He’s got mom in a bind. He caught them doing it yesterday, you see.”

Sehun and Kyungha laugh incredulously at the exact same time. Well, . Taeyong was a force to be reckoned with.

“Guys, please watch out for cars,” Sehun reminds when the kids spring out of his car. Kyungha cannot believe she’s playing ‘family’ on a perfectly good day in which she could read her anatomy book.

Taeyong demanded to go to a shopping mall, so Sehun ended up driving through heavy traffic for the little brat.

Kyungha kind of felt sorry for him. Only because Taeyong was the devil reincarnate. She watches Sehun easily lift Taeyong in his arms as if the four-year-old weighed nothing. She’d be lying if she didn’t find it adorable that Taeyong was clinging around the man’s neck like a koala.

Meanwhile, Kyungha’s hands were both full with the other two bickering children. Soleil and Jungkook are holding her hand, respectively on either side of her.

For the next two hours, Kyungha and Sehun are dragged around by the younger kids instead of the other way around. It’s difficult work because Taeyong and Jungkook want to go to the Lego store, but Soleil wants to go to Build-a-Bear Workshop.

Kyungha is on the verge of ripping her hair out in frustration, so Sehun takes over and attempts to mediate between the three yelling children. He gets them to compromise over how long they can spend in each store, and Kyungha can see why he wants to become a pediatric surgeon. It was simple. He was great with kids, and he had an impressive amount of patience.

Kyungha insists she’ll pay for the items that the kids want, but Sehun refuses to let her. In the end, he pays for everything. It must’ve been a fortune, but she doesn't hear him complain a single word.

The five of them make a pit stop at the indoor playground the shopping mall offered. Kyungha and Sehun settle onto one of the empty benches. She watches Jungkook and Soleil run off excitedly, scolding them to be careful because Soleil ends up tripping over her own feet.

Taeyong has reached his capacity and is currently knocked out on Sehun’s shoulder. She stares at his hands, rubbing the little boy’s back with small, soothing movements.

“Do you want some water?” Kyungha offers, holding out her water bottle. He takes a quick swig, thanking her quietly. “Sorry about…them. You’re only related to them by association with their parents. You should’ve let me paid…”

Sehun glances at her with raised eyebrows. “Sweetheart, that doesn’t matter to me. You're all precious to me. All that matters is that you guys had fun.”

“I don’t like owing anyone,” she murmurs, picking at wood peeling from the bench.

He nudges her with his shoulder. “Who said anything about owing anyone? You’re my best friend’s little sister, but you’re also my friend. I’m naturally inclined to want to pay for everything.”

Kyungha stares at him. He used the word friend. He’s doing it again—he’s defining their relationship. The tightness in her chest feels unfamiliar.

She resorts to avoiding his eyes and silence, but it’s a fatal mistake because she catches invasive stares from a group of mothers, whispering and pointing in their direction. She knows exactly what they’re talking about.

Kyungha grits her teeth. She’d rather they went up to her and ask her instead of sitting amongst themselves and slandering her character.

She may have graduated university, but to the eyes of others, she was still young—Kyungha is sixteen, and Sehun is twenty-nine. The realization burns a hole in her chest, and she can’t—for the life of her—grasp why she was feeling this way.

The mothers were judging her because it looked like Taeyong was their son. She looked like the victim of teenage pregnancy, but the mothers weren’t attacking her. Instead, it looked more like they were attacking Sehun’s character.

And this rubbed her the wrong way.

“You okay?” His voice startles her out of her mental space.

“Fine,” she sputters.

Sehun tilts his head. “I’m not stupid, sweetheart. I can hear you thinking all the way from over here.”

Kyungha didn't want him to know. He was the last person who she’d wanted to reveal her concern toward. “I’m just…thinking about random things. Don’t mind me.”

“Alright, alright, no need to get hostile.”

Silence lingers around them, but Sehun breaks it. “Why don’t you have a boyfriend?” Kyungha follows his gaze onto a young high school couple, hand-in-hand.

She clears , avoiding his eyes. “Isn’t it obvious?”

“What do you mean? What’s obvious?”

He must be playing dumb because Kyungha finds the answer painfully obvious. “Look at the girl and tell me what you see,” she directs.

Sehun hums, “what are you talking about? She’s—er—your age, I guess.”

She laughs shallowly. “Obviously. No, Hoon. Look closer. She’s average height—on the shorter side. He’s a good few inches taller than her. She’s smiling, for one. And she’s in high school.”

Sehun still looks like he didn’t comprehend a single thing she uttered. “True, but—“

She interrupts, “guys that are my age—boys, they don’t date girls who are smarter than them. It hurts their pride. I’m also tall, which stunts any chance of a relationship with a shorter guy because apparently, my height hurts their pride as well. All the tall guys go for shorter girls—well, just because.” She pauses to look at him in the eye. “Does that answer your question?”

He opens his mouth and closes it. After a beat, he finally retorts, “I—I never regarded those things. Sorry, that’s really sad, sweetheart.”

“Of course you can’t, you’re an attractive straight man.” Kyungha meant for it to come out as a joke, but it seems to upset him. So, she continues, “look, all of those factors have nothing to do with you. It’s just a societal problem that a lot of girls have to deal with. You just don't see it because it’s never directly affected you. It’s ty, yes, but I grew up, fighting these small injustices every day. Your pity does nothing for me. I’m fine. Stop sulking. It’s not a good look on you.”

Sehun’s expression lightens and he stares at her with a new appreciation. Her chest tingles as the weird sensation of fuzzy warmth fills her cavity.

“Stop looking at me like that,” she mutters, breaking eye contact.

He queries, “looking at you like what?”

“I don’t know, whatever you’re doing right now…” she drawls awkwardly.

“What—looking at you like you're the most amazing woman I’ve ever met?"