. .

| Dohyun |

The walk from the hospital to the main intersection of Chungdam was short, from there he already knew how to get to her apartment complex. 

Trailing behind Minji and his little sister, he followed the outline of the bright red umbrella that—in a sea of black and translucent umbrellas—was difficult to miss. 

Wondering what kind of conversation was ongoing that made his sister smile for the first time for some time, they reached the gate of the complex in no time.

Approaching the expensive looking buildings, he felt an internal curiosity start to grow on what the interior of such lavish abodes would be like. 

It wasn't his first time entering through the gates into the separated confines of the upper-upper-upper middle class. 

He had after all followed her inside before, when he had been preoccupied by his thoughts. 

But he had never actually entered inside. Like their fancy exteriors, the buildings harbored nice marble interiors, seemed almost too intricate considering they existed only to house the apartment's elevators.  

He stood next to her as they prepared to ascend up with a steel cage, his eyes gravitating towards the keypad.

What floor did she live on?

"What floor unnie?" Hyelin inquired, clearly in awe of the silver and gold elevator. 

Minji reached over and tapped the '17' button. 

The elevator ride up to her apartment felt long, even his little sister stood silently in the enclosed space, most likely due to her obvious weariness. 

"Are you guys hungry?" Minji questioned out of the blue. "Do you want me to order food in?" 

Dohyun bit his lip awkwardly and shook his head. "I'm ok." 

"If it's ok, I'll let Hyelin use my room with me. Would sunbae be ok using the living room sofa? It's pretty big—"

"—Anything... I mean, that's fine with me." He blurted out, silencing her as he spoke over. 

"My brother can sleep in the garbage can if you need him too." Hyelin giggled, lightening the mood slightly. 

Seeing tensions had lowered, he reached into his pocket to check-in with his mother. 

With a subtle ding the silver doors to the elevator opened.

He was greeted by the large inscription of a 17, as well as grey ceramic walls. Even just the hallways revealed the luxuriousness of this building. 

Minji punched in the password to her apartment, and he held the door for her before entering after the two girls. 

Beyond what he had imagined, it was extremely nice, a large modern apartment that reminded him of her mother's law career. 

Of course there was also the various Law Degree plaques placed around the apartment walls.

He tried not to be in awe, but he couldn't help but wonder what it must be like growing up here, just seeing the kitchen showed the massive chasm. 

Stainless steel appliances that looked like the type displayed at department stores, marble backsplashes and countertops; a washing machine they was purposed solely for cleaning dishes. 

"Why don't you come with me Hyelin? I might have some old clothes for you to change into after a shower." Minji offered, clearly noting Hyelin's fatigue. 

"I'll show her to the bathroom and get my bed ready for her, help yourself to anything in the kitchen and feel free to look around." 

She commented, noticing his probably strange fascination with the kitchen.

"I'm not hungry... I mean thanks." He awkwardly responded to her comment. 

Hyelin meanwhile rolled her eyes at him before taking Minji's hand. "Oooh, I get to see unnie's room." 

He watched as they disappeared down the hallway towards a series of rooms, and took a seat on the sofa. It was cozy, he'd certainly have no issue falling asleep, except for one pressing issue. 

A large photo plastered on the wall above the television. It looked to be Minji's middle school graduation photo, but the beautiful but intimidating woman to Minji's left was gazing directly at the camera. And from his viewpoint... directly at him. 

As if communicate to anyone present... I'm watching you.

Remembering the not so pleasant first impression he had made after their first interaction the night before the festival. Dohyun shuddered slightly. 

If she knew about his feelings towards her daughter, would she come straight home and murder him? 

If not, would she use her lawyer connections to prosecute him into a life sentence? 

Either way, he would probably end up in a pretty unfavorable situation. 

That's when he noticed the other photos all hung around the living room, inside the various bookcase units. Most were medals and awards from Minji's childhood, there was a shelf of her academic merit awards and photos of her at mathlete competitions. 

Below that there was an entire shelf all dedicated to her rhythmic gymnastics career. 

It was easy to forget, given her other accomplishments she had once been an up and coming national athlete. 

There were medals, trophies, framed photos taken with accomplished athletes, and various certificates. 

One photo in particular caught his eye, it was a 2013 junior rhythm gymnastics qualifier in Seoul, she stood proudly at the top of the pyramid wearing a golden medal. 

But the reason he was so drawn to it, was because he had been there. It was the first competition he had taken Hyelin too, back when she was only 8. Back then Dohyun had searched for some kind of activity Hyelin could participate in that would persuade the sports-hating girl to get out of the house.

Like many girls, Hyelin was fixated on sailor moon and Disney princesses, and hated any dirty and rough sports. 

After complaining that ice skating was 'too cold', and ballet was 'too boring'; the then 16-year-old Dohyun had taken her to a rhythmic gymnastic competition as a last ditch effort.

If the gracefulness of ice skating wasn't intriguing to her, would there be anything she liked? 

But sure enough, the moment contestant Song Minji stepped onto the mat to perform her routine, Hyelin was completely captivated. 

"Is she a real life princess?" Those words had actually come from the little girl's mouth, as they quietly snuck up the rows of seats to better watch the talented athlete.

And seeing her smile... Dohyun couldn't help but mimic her expression. 

He didn't understand at first how it was any different than ballet or ice skating. Yet, it probably wasn't the sport itself that inspired Hyelin to pursue it... it was the young female heroine that Hyelin had never seen before. 

Their drunk father would constantly layout his misogynistic beliefs on her. 

And their mother's meek personality didn't serve as any inspiration for Hyelin to believe in her ability to accomplish anything. 

That was how a 13-year-old athlete, became like a super heroine in the eyes of his little sister. 

"What are you looking at?" 

He didn't realized how long he had been zoning out, and quickly turned around. 

"I recognized one of the awards from the competition as the one I took Hyelin too." He explained, not wanting to come off as a total snoop.

"Ahh, I almost forgot about that." Minji casually walked over to the photos.

"You know, I know I never really said it, but you were really an idol to her. You might not know it but, cheering for you changed her life." Dohyun wasn't sure where such cringe words came from. 

But it felt appropriate to tell her the reason for his feelings. 

Minji continued to gaze at the picture, as if reliving memories from the time. 

"I never saw my little sister motivated by anything until the day she saw you perform on that mat. That was why hearing her tell me on the bus ride home, how she finally had something to chase after. I decided that I would thank that you if I ever met you and become your fan." He recounted the past. 

"Then why didn't you say it back then..." Minji spoke softly her thoughts. "When you first saw me." 

Dohyun couldn't help but chuckle slightly. 

"Because I never thought someone who seemed like such a fictional character could suddenly become so real. It was intimidating."

"Intimidating?" 

"In a good way. Because, you were well..." 

"Pretty?" Minji questioned with a scoff. 

However, as he nodded in response, he noticed her crack a smirk.

"I never would've thought that I'd even be able to be a part of your world, until you showed up in my life the way you did. In that empty hallway after school." He commented remembering the wave of emotions he felt as she first approached him. 

"You asked me before why I didn't tell you that my sister was your fan at first. Because I heard rumors you were only doing the event because of another guy, and I didn't want to let myself be disappointed. So the only thing I could think of was push you away." 

"Still, you kept showing up in my life: meeting Hyelin, coming to the Happy Gamer, you kept showing me new sides of you... and before I knew it. I didn't want to just be a friend to you." Dohyun stopped talking. 

Minji stared at him in silence, clearly processing his long confession. 

"That's all to say, I thought you deserve to know, why I can no longer be a part of your world." 

After helping him through his attempts to push her away, after bearing the humiliation of kneeling in front of her mother. 

Minji had practically shoved her way back into his life, and changed it in so many different ways. 

She stared at him, her eyes widening in shock at his statement. 

"I'm going to dropout of school." 

He watched as fell agape. 

"Why?" Came an obvious question. "Is it because of—"

"No, no, it's not because of you. Or I guess it's a little because of your encouragement." He quickly clarified. "I mean, not in a bad way." 

"Just say it." Minji ushered him. 

"I'm going to join a team, I had a tryout with them before the incident and they told me they wanted to sign me to their roster." He revealed, one of the few good things that had happened since he had last seen her. 

"I'll study for the CSAT on the side and use the money I make from to try and pay for college tuition." 

It was a path that Coach Sangsoo had offered to him with some context of his situation. 

It wasn't uncommon nowadays for students to dropout of high school if they felt their grades wouldn't be enough to get them into college. Instead, they committed their entire lives to study for the single test that would define their ability to get into university by attending specialized academies or staying at study dorms. 

Of course, barely if any of them were also becoming full-time professional gamers. But Dohyun felt confident he could do both. Although balancing both would most likely take up every spare hour of his day. 

 "I see." Her voice quieted in what seemed to be disappointment. "Good for you." 

"I'm going to go shower now." She stood up abruptly. 

"Wait." He could sense her frustration, but his voice was too meek as he watched in panic as she disappeared down the hallway once again. 

Time passed slowly, as he continued to stare at the wall of accomplishments. However, his mind had long since traveled from reality, he was thinking of how to talk to her. 

What should he say? 

It wasn't like he had much other choice, he had already tried out and been accepted onto their roster. The salary, for even one playing one split was more money than Dohyun had ever seen before. 

If he stayed on their starting roster, he'd be able to pay for 3 years of tuition without having to work part-time, not to mention the incentive bonuses. 

Turning such an opportunity down, it wasn't possible. 

"Sunbae." Her voice interrupted him. 

Minji must've finished showering as she was drying her damp hair with a towel, her skin somehow practically glowing. 

Seeing her there, he wondered why she even wore makeup in the first place?

"Anyways, I found some clothes that might fit you, if sunbae wanted to change." She remarked placing a towel along with what appeared to be a men's t-shirt and a pair of halmeonni pants (grandma-styled flowery oversized gardening pants).

He wasn't someone who gave 2 s about style... but even this... wasn't it a little too much?

Dohyun was about to protest, when he noticed it, the rights of her lips lifting into a smirk. 

Giving him hope that perhaps this would account for her earlier disappointment.

Today, just today he would concede.

"Thanks." He mumbled, taking the garments and following h