“Seunghyun! Oh my, what has happened to you?” Mrs. Choi exclaimed, as soon as he stepped inside his house. Mumbling incoherently to himself, he ignored his stepmother and walked up to his room.

“I knew I should have come in through the back. I forgot that she was coming home today.” Seunghyun said to himself as he reached his bedroom.

“Seunghyun, answer me!” Mrs. Choi was storming up the steps, following behind her stepson. “What happened?”

“It’s nothing. Just a little fight at school, but it’s all taken care of.” Seunghyun lied, trying to calm his stepmother down.

“What do you mean taken care of? It would have been taken care of if you told your father and me sooner!” Mrs. Choi refuted, pulling her stepson close to examine his wounds. “Aigoo.. Luckily it’s just a simple bruise. That could heal quickly. If it ever required surgery, I promise you, we will take legal action immediately. Seunghyun, who’s the perpetrator?”

Seunghyun sighed, taking off his uniform’s sweater and laying it on his bed. “I said it’s already been taken care of. It’s not a big deal, so don’t you worry.”

Mrs. Choi watched as Seunghyun resumed peeling off his uniform, as if she wasn’t in the room. She remained fixed on him, until she finally had a realization.

Suddenly, her concerned look wiped off of her face as she stood up straighter. “It was because of a girl again, wasn’t it?”

Seunghyun, who was right in the middle of taking off his shoes, stopped abruptly.

His voice weaker, he contested. “N-no… It’s not because of a girl…”

Mrs. Choi’s expression hardened. “Seunghyun, I know you stayed out late taking a girl out on a date. Did you think you could hide that from your father and me?”

Seunghyun remained silent, looking down in shame.

“Who is this girl again? Is it Lee Hee Jin? Had I not made myself clear that you are forbidden to see anyone, including her? Has the mistakes of your last relationship not caught up to you yet?” Mrs. Choi scolded, her anger escalating each time she reminded herself of Seunghyun’s past mistake. “500,000 won was not an easy price to pay to keep their family silent. Your father and I are not going to take responsibility for any of your mistakes inflicted on these women! If you want to go out and screw girls, go ahead! Just get out of this house! I don’t want you to step in this household, until you have learned from your mistakes!”

Mrs. Choi was nearly yelling, her rage coming over her in an instant. She was not ready to handle another one of Seunghyun’s mistakes concerning young girls.

Seunghyun, used to his stepmother’s severe scolding, ignored her, simply continuing to remove his shoes and put on another outfit for the night. This, however, triggered Mrs. Choi to go beyond angry. Heading to his closet, she began steadily grabbing several articles of clothing, and stuffing them into a luggage that stood conveniently nearby.

“You’re not listening to me, huh?” Mrs. Choi tested. “Here, let me pack your stuff for you. Come back when you’ve got your act together.”

Seunghyun, shocked to see that his stepmother was kicking him out of his father’s own house, just sat on the edge of his bed and watched her unbelievingly.  

“I told you already, multiple times,” Mrs. Choi said, stuffing her stepson’s belongings inside the luggage. “if I ever catch you messing around with girls, I will ban you from this house until you straighten up your act.”

And with that, Mrs. Choi tossed her stepson his luggage and grabbed his coat for him, leading him out his bedroom and down the stairs. Not missing a beat, Seunghyun hastily slipped his feet into another pair of shoes.

“What are you doing??” Seunghyun finally found his voice to react, still a bit shocked that his own stepmother was still pushing him out of the house. “It’s was just a date! She’s not even my girlfriend – “

“Don’t tell me that! That’s the same thing you said the last time!” Mrs. Choi argued. “And what happened after that? You got slapped with charges on ual harassment. Seunghyun, go ahead, if you want to be tossing girls around like toys, just not when you’re under our household!”

“Umma, you’re making a mistake… If my appa hears about this…”

“Oh, you’re right. Your father will certainly hear about this!” Mrs. Choi replied, dryly.

“Where am I going to go? It’s cold outside! What kind of umma would kick out their own stepson in the cold???” Seunghyun asked, as his stepmother opened the front door for him.

“There’s your coat, there’s your car. Find your girlfriend, and live with her!!” Mrs. Choi said, as Seunghyun unwillingly walked out of the house, still dazed with what had just happened between him and his stepmother.

“But I don’t even have a – “ Seunghyun tried to argue, but the door was shut in his face by his indifferent stepmom. “Umma! Umma!”

Seunghyun tried to call, pounding on his front doors, but was only replied with the click of the locks, locking him out of his own home. Frustrated, Seunghyun kicked the doors, and then turned around, tossing his luggage and coat in the backseat of his car. For a rich boy like him, he had nowhere to go, no one to turn to at an hour like this. He surely couldn’t take up a room at a hotel because of the publicity he might cause by staying out alone. The only family he had were…

Jiyong pulled up in front of Eun Ji’s home. The lights inside were on, indicating that her parents were still inside waiting for her, despite the lateness of the hour.

“Are you sure you’re going to be alright? If you want, maybe Sooyeon will take you in for the time being – “ Jiyong offered, but was cut off by Eun Ji.

“No, thank you,” she smiled politely. “You’ve done enough, and I’m afraid that I’ve taken much of your time tonight. I’m sorry.”

Jiyong shook his head immediately. “No, no, it’s alright. It’s better than seeing you running away towards nowhere. I’d rather be here to keep you from harm than you going off alone to God knows where.”

Eun Ji gave him another smile, and opened the door to get out. As she was about to step out, Jiyong grabbed hold of her hand and squeezed it.

“Promise you won’t hurt yourself, arasso?” He said, looking bothered with the fact that she was about to go inside the home with the man she hated the most.

Eun Ji placed another hand on top of his, rubbing it gently. Softly, she said, “I will. Thank you.”

She got out of his car, and with a deep breath, she ascended the steps guiding towards her front door. Jiyong stayed for awhile, making sure she was alright as she entered her home, and if she would ever run out, he hoped to be there to catch her.

Waiting for a few minutes until he was certain she was fine, he finally started his car and turned around to head back home. Once he reached his home, Jiyong noticed that there was a familiar black car parked outside. Instantly, confusion dawned over him. What was Seunghyun doing at his house at a time like this?

As Jiyong got out of his car, Seunghyun did the same, as if he was anticipating him. Jiyong walked up to his front door, trying to ignore his cousin, but Seunghyun beat him to it, standing in front of him.

“I’m sorry,” were the first words he uttered to his younger cousin, throwing Jiyong off-guard.

Jiyong didn’t reply immediately.

“I’m very sorry,” Seunghyun repeated gravely. “For all I’ve done. I’d ask for forgiveness, but I understand that that is something that I won’t expect so quickly. I know the past events have caused quite a strain on our relationship as cousins, and I take full blame – “

Jiyong held up his hand, stopping his cousin from continuing. “Where are you going with this?” he asked.

Flustered, Seunghyun fidgeted with the hem of his coat’s sleeve. “I… I…”

“Jiyong, it’s cold outside. Why are you standing out here?” A familiar voice emerged from the front door. Against the light that shone from the inside, there stood his mother. She looked at Jiyong, concerned, but her gaze immediately landed on the boy standing next to her son. Immediately, a surprised expression flew over her. “Seunghyun! What brings you here so late? Aigoo.. Come in, come in. Don’t catch a cold out here. You too, son.”

Responding to his aunt’s orders, Seunghyun shuffled his feet and stepped inside Jiyong’s quaint, little home. Jiyong followed him inside hesitantly.

“Well, go in,” Jiyong’s mother told Seunghyun enthusiastically, gesturing towards their living room. “Make yourselves comfortable. I’m going to make some tea. Are you hungry?” She asked Seunghyun, before leaving the two boys alone.

Seunghyun shook his head no, and with that, Mrs. Kwon hurried off to her kitchen where she prepared a kettle for hot water. Jiyong pushed his way past his cousin, and proceeded towards his living room, where he lounged casually on one corner of his couch. Slowly, Seunghyun followed, taking a seat on the other end and waited patiently for his aunt to come back.

He looked around his cousin’s living room. On one side of the room stood the family’s entertainment system, which Jiyong was now using freely by surfing through the television’s channels for a good show to watch. On another side of the living room, a low shelf was positioned against the wall. He saw books of all kinds inside, and on the surface of the shelf were several picture frames and photo albums.

Scanning through them from where he sat, he was able to make out that most of those pictures were of Jiyong and his family through the years… except for one photo frame that was place far off to the side. Though the frame itself was unique with its girly persona of pink hearts on a baby blue background, it was the picture itself that caused Seunghyun to stir. Jiyong looked jubilant as he held Eun Ji close, who was also showing off one of her brightest smiles. The couple was standing in front of a snowy field, dressed in skiing attire, giving off the impression that this photo was probably taken a year ago during one of their ski trips in the winter.

Seunghyun wanted to get up and take a closer look at that picture, but the fact that Jiyong was still in the room with him stopped him. That, however, didn’t stop him from wondering why that picture was still up even when they were clearly not in speaking terms.

As he was about to ask about it, his aunt came in the room holding a tray of tea and then placed it on the low coffee table in front of the boys.

“It’s good to see you again, Seunghyun,” said Mrs. Kwon as she began to pour the boys their tea. “Though, I have to ask what brings you here.”

“It’s… quite a story, actually…” Seunghyun muttered nervously as he took the tea cup his aunt held up for him. He sipped the hot tea before continuing. “But to make the story simple… My stepmother kicked me out, and I had nowhere to go… except here.”

Jiyong abruptly pried his eyes away from the television and looked over at his cousin. So he expects us to take him in?? He thought heatedly. After all he’s done, he thinks we have the kindness to let him live with us. That bastard deserves to live in the streets.

“Oh, that’s a shame!” Mrs. Kwon replied to her nephew. “What have you done?”

“My stepmother threw a fit after she found out that I was seeing another girl. She wasn’t too pleased that I was with her, so immediately she threw me out of the house,” recounted Seunghyun. He put down his cup of tea, and held his aunt’s hands pleadingly. “I just need a place to stay for the time being while I try to convince my stepmother to take me back.”

His eyes, one of his most charming aspects, stirred up the look of pleading innocence, causing Mrs. Kwon to falter and submit to his wishes almost immediately. That is, until Jiyong stood up brusquely, almost tipping over the tea on the coffee table.

“Jiyong?” his mother uttered as she looked up at her son who was now glowering down at his cousin.

“Are you just going to sit there and fall for his lies, umma?” Jiyong asked his mother.

“Jiyong!” His mother snapped, standing up. “Don’t say that about him! He’s your cousin!”

Jiyong laughed darkly. “You say that like it’s true.”

 “It is! Son, what’s wrong with you?”

“I don’t want him here,” was all he said, before walking out of the living room. Mrs. Kwon chased after her son as he headed towards his bedroom.

“Jiyong. Jiyong!” She called out multiple times before he finally stopped in his tracks and faced her. “How dare you become so rude to your own cousin. He has nowhere to go and you want us to throw him out on the streets just like what his mother has done?”

A bout of anger emerged inside of Jiyong, but he stayed silent, letting his mother continue.

Mrs. Kwon loosened up, and took hold of her son’s hands with her own gentle, warm fingers, calming him almost immediately. “I know there were past events that caused our families to be estranged, but you have to put that aside. One day you might look back and be grateful that you’ve done your cousin a favor, Jiyong. What goes around, comes around,” said Mrs. Kwon.

Jiyong sighed, trying to relax himself. He was about to open his mouth to speak, but Seunghyun had already appeared before them.

“If I’m causing any trouble, I can try to manage to find somewhere else,” said Seunghyun, looking directly at Jiyong.

“Go ahead. No one’s stopping –” Jiyong scoffed, but his mother squeezed his hand, causing him to rephrase his sentence. “I mean, no, it’s fine. Everything’s fine. You can stay for the night.”

A look of relief came over Seunghyun’s face as he bowed gratefully towards his aunt and cousin. “Kamsamnida.”

Mrs. Kwon, happy that her son accepted his cousin, kissed Jiyong on the cheek, and hurriedly went off the prepare Seunghyun’s sleeping arrangements.

“I hope you don’t mind, but you’ll have to sleep in Jiyong’s room for now. Our guest room is currently being used as storage, but we can fix that in the morning,” explained Mrs. Kwon, as she walked upstairs to gather extra blankets and pillows for him.

Though his mother was gladly setting up Seunghyun’s bed, Jiyong lingered where he was, frowning at his cousin.

“Just because I’m allowing you to sleep here for the night, and just because we’re going to be sharing a room, it doesn’t mean we’re going to be bestfriends,” Jiyong said sharply.

Seunghyun nodded. “It’s your house, your rules.”

Jiyong continued to glare down at him for a minute and then turned around to fix himself for bed. 

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A/N: So, basically, I was going to place a "chapter image" but, I'm too lazy to make another one, so forget it. :P Anyway, hope you liked this chapter as much as you guys liked the previous one! :)