Unlike any other day, that day was pleasantly peaceful for Bona. She could not recall when was the last time she felt at ease. Just a few hours ago she made friends with two girls from her class, Shin Ye-eun managed to get the girls to join basketball team for sport days and Wonwoo and her was no longer in a bad term. Pushing aside the fact that Ye-eun might be interested in him, everything seemed to work out for her.

“Kim Bona.” a familiar voice snapped her back to reality.

“Chu Sojung, what are you doing here?” she greeted her best friend. This time, she was pleasantly surprised at her presence.

“I’m going home for the weekend. Might as well see you before I go back, huh?” she told Bona with a grin.

“I’m sorry, but my shift ended at eleven and I have school tomorrow.” She couldn’t help but felt sorry for her friend.

“No worries. I’m just here to see you.” she comforted Bona. That was true. All she ever needed was a quick look at Bona’s face. She wanted to make sure that she was fine. The last time they parted ways, Bona was all bones and her there was no trace of life in her eyes.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“The strawberry shortcake is delicious.” She offered her opinion.

“Really? Have you tried them?” Sojung almost squealed in excitement.

“I’ve tried them all.” Bona told Sojung. She knew what Sojung was worried about. Bona used to have serious eating disorder and would go days without eating. Knowing the problem originated from Hyungwon made Sojung furious. And Bona’s mom had never once took her side. Sojung felt sorry that she was treated like an outsider when she practically cleaned the house and fed everyone in the household.

“I’d love to try that and one hazelnut latte to go.” Sojung finally placed her order.

“I thought you wanted to look at me longer.” Bona teased Sojung.

“I’d love to but your manager is staring at us.” She said as she caught the man staring at the from the corner of her eyes.

“His face is a bit… intimidating. but he’s really, really kind.” Bona told her.

“Was that your friend? The cute girl with short hair.” Sojung asked. She must have seen Ye-eun saying goodbye to her before she entered the café.

“We talked for the first time today. I guess she is my friends. Don’t worry. She’s really kind.” Bona tried to convinced Sojung.

She remembered when they were in school. Chu Sojung was basically her protector. No one could go anywhere near her without talking to best friend. Despite saying that she was fine, Sojung was afraid to leave Bona alone.

Honestly, she understood her concern. Being bullied for being an overweight kid during her middle-school-years taught Bona to be careful around everyone. She couldn’t even eat without being judged or mocked by other people. Sojung had always resented Bona’s family for ignoring her when she was having hard times at school. They should have taken her side. That winter night, they shouldn’t have let her left.

“You know you don’t have to worry about me anymore.” Bona reassured Sojung. She could only smile. Honestly, she didn’t know how else to convince her.

“Are you doing okay?” Sojung asked. There was a genuine concern and a little bit of guilt in her tone.

“I am.”

“I hope you’re not just saying that.”

“I’m managing.” She said truthfully.

“You know you’re like a sister to me. I’m just one call away if you ever need me.” Sojung reminded Bona. Those words warmed her heart. She truly needed to hear that to make sure that she was going to be fine after all.

“I know. I never forget everything you and your parents have done for me. Thanks for saving me from that… hell.” Bona hesitated. She didn’t want to be reminded of that night. But she didn’t want to dismissed the fact that Sojung helped her escaped.

“Hey, don’t mention it. They don’t deserve you.” Sojung tried to make Bona felt better. Just thinking about her mom and brother gave Sojung chills. The fact that the most normal looking people being abusive made her blood boil. They should’ve dragged Bona’s mom and brother to the police station that night instead of letting them go unpunished.

“Can I come visit sometimes?” Sojung asked.

“Sure. I’ll let my grandmother know.”

“Which grandmother?”

“The one on my dad’s side. We still haven’t heard anything from him.” Bona told her the details before she could ask.

“You’ll be fine.” Sojung reassured her. Again, Bona could only respond with a smile. She didn’t know what will become of her in the future. The only way for her to keep living was smiling, even if she was faking it. Good things will come, eventually. That was what she chose to believe in.

“I will. I’ve made this far without him. I doubt if I ever need him anymore.” She spoke without a single amount of hesitation this time.

“I guess I’ll get going. I promised my mom to help with the shop. Here’s my card.” Sojung handed her card for the purchase but Bona immediately rejected it.

“My treat.”

“What’s this?” Sojung asked when look into the paper bag filled with various items.

“The red bean and matcha filled buns are for your parents. They used to like it so much. I’ll treat you better when I make more money.” Sojung didn’t respond to that. The mention of her parents suddenly made her mood went downhill.

“I’ll get going. Call me.” She said before leaving the café.

After taking a few steps away from the café, Sojung rummaged through the paper bag. She couldn’t possibly take those home. Her mom would throw up if she took a whiff of those breads. Morning sickness were the worst.

Chu Sojung lied about going home for the weekend. Being at home stressed her out. She wanted to spend the night drinking or going to the club and let them worry about her all night. She couldn’t care less. How could a couple of forty-year-old were irresponsible enough to skip protection and ended up with a baby on the way? Sojung wasn’t generous enough to forgive them.

“Are you going to throw that away?” the voice resonated through her ears. Sojung turned back to be welcomed by a familiar figure. He shamelessly unwrapped the bread and stuffed them into his mouth.

“Cram school?” Sojung asked, unfazed. Clearly, that was not their first encounter. The boy nodded. He then, naturally reached for her drink and sipped trough the straw. It was only their second meeting but strangely, being with him made her calm down. The first time they met, Sojung cried for an hour, made him listen to her story for two hour, played in the arcade for an hour and poured her heart out on coin karaoke for another hour before going finally home. At this point, there was no other mysterious side of her left for him to see.

“Notes?” he asked.

“Here.” Sojung handed him stacks of notes for Korean Literature, with pastel-coloured stick-it-notes pasted on every few pages to make it easier for him to study.

“Going home?” he asked this time.

“You know, the café is right over there. Get your own drink.” She complained, not that he really made her angry. She just wanted to rant.

“Noona, you didn’t answer my question.” Sojung rolled her eyes at him. She wasn’t obligated to told him everything. And plus, she hated being called a ‘noona’. The guy was not a lot younger than she was. They were less than a year apart. Technically, they were the same age.

“You, stop calling me that. I hate it.” She told him off. Frankly speaking, she didn’t care being called ‘noona’ or ‘eonnie’ before. But when the news of having a baby brother or sister struck her, she developed hatred for those two terms. All her life, Sojung was her parents’ pride and joy. They loved her and cherished her unconditionally. Thus, the news came as a bit of a shock for her.

“’You’?” he repeated. His expression clearly showed dissatisfaction.

“What’s wrong with me calling you that?”

“What the… I thought you were smart but you could even remember my name.” he complained.

“We met under unfavourable circumstances. Do you really think I’ve got time to remember your name? I’ve never thought of seeing you again.” She admitted.

“Ouch. Is that the way to talk to the person that lent you his shoulder?” he teased Sojung. She widened her eyes when he brought it up.

“Shut up.” She scolded him.

“You’re not crying today? What a shame. I warm up my shoulder, just in case.” He said and purposely patted his own shoulder.

“You’re a petty one, aren’t you?” she said in annoyance but he brushed it off with a laugh.

“Hand.” He asked her. Sojung obediently reached out her hand towards him as he took a pen out from his backpack and scribbled on her reddish palm.

“What’s this for?” she pointed at her palm.

“A claim on property?” he said jokingly.

“Do you have a death wish?” she asked, partially implied. He grinned at her not-so-threat and read the letters on her skin.

“Nakamoto Yuta.” He said softly as he traced the words with his finger and looked up to meet her gaze.

“Nakamoto Yuta. She repeated, causing him broke into a smile.

“The next time we meet, I hope you’ll remember my name.” he asked off her.

“I’m gonna go.” She said lazily.

“Don’t wander off like last time or I’ll take you home myself.” He reminded her of their first meeting.

“There goes my plan to go on strike.” She sighed and walked away.

“Next week is Math. I’ll be waiting over here.” Sojung had already walked away. She waved her hand as a response without turning back at him.

Yuta just shook his head listening at her absurdness and laughed it off. He knew she wouldn’t do that. The naïve and kind-hearted girl wouldn’t act like a brat just because of her parents were expecting another baby. There must be another reason for her sudden change of behaviour, something that actually made sense.

“I guess you really don’t remember me.” he sighed.

…………………………

“I’m home.” Yuta said softly but just loud enough for the housekeeper to hear him. She quickly walked towards him with green juice that his mom made him drank religiously. Yuta looked at the drink in disgust but took from the tray and gulped it down, anyway.

“Urgh, that’s more bitter than usual.” He complained.

“Should I put in honey tomorrow?” She whispered as if someone else was listening to their conversation.

“Yes, please. A lot of it. And don’t tell mom.” He almost pleaded.

“Would you like to have some snacks? I’m just starting to prepare dinner.” She offered.

“It’s fine. I’m going to study for a bit. Where’s mom?” he asked as sat on one of the chair under the kitchen island.

“They have dinner appointment with a client.” She told him. The creaking of the door drifted Yuta’s attention from their conversation.

“Why is this in the trash can?” Yuta crouched down to pick up a box of untouched ginseng extract in the trash can as soon as she went into the kitchen.

“That…” she couldn’t think of any answers. It was obvious, anyway. No one else will do such things.

“Ahjumma, we’ve got to fix the door. It’s too loud.” Jeon Wonwoo complained but the sight of Yuta made him quiet. To be honest, they never really had the chance to speak to each other. No, they purposely stayed out of each other’s way without no exact reasons. Listening to him whining caught Yuta a little off guard.

“Let me take your bag.” Their housekeeper left Yuta to help Wonwoo with his backpack and jacket. She obviously trying to change the subject so that the two boys wouldn’t get into a fight.

“I’m good.” He rejected her help and went straight to the stairs.

“If you’re not going to eat those, just give it to me. She bought these with her hard-earn money. Don’t purposely do things like this to upset her.” Yuta voiced echoed in the dining hall as he walked back to the living room. That was it. Something snapped inside him. Initially, he didn’t intend to engage in a conversation with neither Yuta nor his mom but listening to him talking about how thoughtful his mom was made Wonwoo angry.

“Why don’t you tell her to stop doing these things? Honestly, seeing her does things like this makes me sick. It’s pathetic.” He said coldly. Yuta clenched his fist to keep his cool.

“She’s trying hard so that you can accept us into this family. Everyone is on their toes just to make sure that we do not upset you in any way. Maybe if you stop like acting like a spoiled brat, things will be easier for all of us.” He snapped. Listening to his words made Wonwoo’s blood boiled.

“A spoiled brat? You know, I used to live in the basement for eight years and never had my own bed. Have you been in a basement? It was brutal. When it’s pouring, we had to choose whether to save your belongings or your life. We never get to have both. Do you know how hard is it to get rid of the mouldy smell from your clothes just for the kids to mock you for being smelly the next day? That man suddenly showed up and acted like he’d been taking care of me his entire life. And you two… You two suddenly swooped in and we suddenly live in this humongous house in a luxurious neighbourhood out of nowhere. I heard your dad’s place is bigger than this one. You must have had an easy life.” Yuta stayed silent. He was furious at Wonwoo but it was not like everything he said wasn’t true. Yuta clenched his jaw tight. He didn’t expect their first conversation was going to be this tense. Trying to act cool made him felt like exploding.

Wonwoo who was already headed up headed back down and walked towards Yuta and shot him a threatening glare. Wonwoo was the first one to raise his hand, grabbing Yuta’s collar tightly and pulled him closer. Mrs. Yeon who was watching at the side wouldn’t dare to say anything to break them up. At this point, the best thing that she could hope that this didn’t end with a blood bath.

“All of you can enjoy your luxurious life as you want, just don’t drag me into playing happy families with you. My mom and I have never had an easy life. If anyone that is privilege in this house, it’s you. So don’t try to school me when you don’t know a thing about me.” Wonwoo dropped the last bomb, pushed Yuta away and left the house.