“When I grow up, will you be my bride, Hyewon?”

Her eyes fluttered open at those nostalgic words. Hyewon groans at herself while clenching the pounding head hers. There’s another woman sharing a blanket with her which stirred awake at the sound of Hyewon’s soft whine.

“Hye? You okay?”

The petite woman reaching out at the blonde-haired woman who is clenching her temple with knitted eyebrows. “Eun, I’m okay. Maybe it’s the fatigue from the previous game catching up,” Hyewon replied as she gently assured the woman who hums in return. When a smirk appeared on Eunbi’s face, Hyewon knows that this woman will make another naughty remark at her and she is guessing right as the woman with red wine hair whispered seductively, “Are you sure it’s the game of basketball you are talking now? Or are you talking about our game last night?”

She is about to pounce Eunbi and resumed their games again but her wish is interrupted with a deafening ringtone coming from her private phone. Clicking her tongue, Hyewon jumped from the bed and cursing at whoever is disturbing her sweet time. She is about to pour out her wrath at the caller but stopped upon seeing the ID that appeared on her phone.

Hye Min is calling…

Sliding the green button to the right, Hyewon put on the phone to her left ear and nervously greeted her brother which she didn’t contact for quite some time. “Hello,” she muttered and just received a loud sob at the end of the line. Her heart instantly sank upon the cracking voice of her brother, “Sis, come back home. M-mom and Dad are dead. Please, tell me you are not busy this time and come back for the last time to see them. I promise I won’t bother you ever again after this.”

If Hyewon didn’t have better control of herself, she will already be losing the grasp of her phone. The news comes in like a flash for her, making Hyewon in a daze for a couple of moments before telling her brother that she will find the fastest flight to go back to her old hometown. “Hye? What’s wrong? You okay?”

Turning her head towards Eunbi, Hyewon just offered a stiff smile before shuffling closer towards Eunbi and landed a peck on top of the woman’s crown. She then muttered, “There’s something arise back at home. I need to go back for a couple of days.”

“Aww~ Really? Is something bad happening?”

Pursing her lips, Hyewon didn’t answer Eunbi’s answer and just shrug. She then finds a small suitcase before contacting her manager to inform him about her current situation. Fortunately, her current manager is thoughtful enough and efficiently book the earliest flight back to Yangsan, Hyewon’s hometown in South Korea.

It took Hyewon 14 hours of direct flight and another 2 hours to commute to her hometown. The scenery is surely different from the bustling city she resides in after moving out seven years ago but somehow, her heart played some melancholic sounds as she gazes at the familiar, unchanged town.

She didn’t have to wait long as the bus reached her house and Hyewon heaved her suitcase alongside her as she stepped inside of the gloomy house. She can hear faint sobbing coming from the living room and is surprised to see her brother is being comforted by another familiar figure which Hyewon can never forget.

“Yuri?”

“Oh, you are finally home, Hyewon.”

The husky voice sounds raspy as puffy eyes girl with a red nose turned towards Hyewon with a hurtful gaze. The girl didn’t talk much and just informed me that she already arranged the funeral of the Kang couple to take place in two days. The girl also apologizes for not consulting with Hyewon first as she mentioned that she didn’t have Hyewon’s contact number and Hyemin also refuses to bother his sister.

“Thank you for your help, Yuri-ya. I will take over from here.”

Instead of leaving Hyewon who is putting on her calm face, Yuri enveloped her arms around Hyewon while whispering softly; just enough for them both to listen, “I know you want to cry too, Hyewon. Don’t put up your strong mask in front of me. Remember, you are a human too.” Maybe there’s a crack on her ego upon hearing Yuri’s words as the girl walked away with trembling shoulders.

Heaving a sigh, Hyewon moved towards her old room which surprisingly is clean without