A few weeks had passed, and as much as you hated to admit it, you were starting to get used to the new lifestyle you had. The only avid connection to your past was your mother. Late night chats on the phone made you miss her more than you could ever imagine. Companionship came in an unexpected way, through Hye won. Even though she would still call you "young mistress" in fits of playfulness, the both of you become each other's best confidante. She was a few years older than you, and had come to work as an attendant to support her family of 4 siblings living in the countryside. Mature, calm and compassionate; you admired her greatly. The both of you talked about almost everything; well almost because there was just this one thing you couldn't bring yourself to admit. Your feelings for your supposed half-brother min Hyuk. How were you supposed to tell her when you yourself were confused and uncertain. Had your relationship progressed to more than a normal brother-sister one? There were times it seemed like he treated you more than just a younger sister, but a small voice in your head would always convince you otherwise. He just sees me as a younger sister, you thought disappointedly. It was for the better anyways; this family couldn't afford another change, a controversial one too. It would be more complicated than you could ever endure. These feelings would have to remain hidden for now, you decided insistently. You were sitting on the new sofa in your room, sketching distractedly in a blank notebook. Suddenly, the door burst open with a loud creak. "Mi young! Mi young! I... Have something to tell you", hye won exclaimed nervously as she entered your room. "whatever happened to calling me young mistress unnie", you joked with a smirk. "shhh... It's our secret ", hye won smiled knowingly and took a seat beside you. "well, what's up unnie? You look... Really happy", you asked curiously upon noticing her bright smile. "mi young ah... Unnie likes someone," she admitted as a blush crept up her cheeks. "OMO!!! Who Unnie!!! Isit someone I know?" you exclaimed excitedly. Just at that moment, a voice calling for hye won echoed down the hallway. She nodded in answer to your question. "I'll tell you when the time is right!" she whispered and with that, she disappeared down the hallway.  "im so happy for her, at least she has courage to face up to her feelings", you sighed in defeat.  That night, you had just finished dinner with mrs lee and your father. In the last few weeks, your father's Heath had improved so you would often have dinner as a family. However, min Hyuk was often still at training, so it was Just the three of you. You were hiding in the library again as you continued reading your book. As you turned the last page of pride and prejudice, you felt the familiar satisfaction of a finishing a good book. It's already 10 o clock, You Realised after glancing At the clock.Putting the book back in the shelf, you headed back to your room. Just as you passed by the living room, you heard someone call your name. "mi young ah~ could you help me bring this up to min Hyuk?" Alfie asked sweetly, handing you a small stack of clothes. "sure", you said meekly. For the last few weeks, Alfie had asked you to do small chores like this, only somehow they involved the half-brother of yours. You were beginning to suspect her purposeful actions, but complied anyway. Walking down the hallway, you stopped in front of his door and raised your hand to knock. However, the door was left ajar. Puzzled, you moved to open it but caught sight of what was happening inside. Hye won and min Hyuk were inside, deep in conversation. You saw min Hyuk pat her head affectionately, eyes curved in a characteristic smile. A pink blush accompanied the wide smile on hye won's face. She whispered something, before flinging her arms around min Hyuk in a tight hug. He returned her hug without hesitation, his arms snaking around her back. Gasping, you quickly shut the door. You ran back to your room, closing the door clumsily. Clasping your chest, you sank to your knees, back resting against the door. "The boy hye won likes, is min Hyuk." you muttered with finality. Your heart ached painfully, lurching with hurt. Tears streamed down your face steadily as you haphazardly wiped them away, shocked at your unexpected discovery. "if Hye Won likes him, I can't let my feelings continue. She's my best friend, I can't come between them", you thought tearfully. You crawled pitifully into your bed, pulling the sheets over your head as you sobbed uncontrollably. A sharp knock on the door caused you to sit up abruptly. "Mi Young ah, are you awake?" Min hyuk's familiar voice floated through the door. You immediately pulled the sheet over your head and turned to face away from the door. You heard the door creak open, and pretended that you were asleep. Only till the door shut close, did you slowly peel the sheets off your body, revealing your tear stained face. I'm sorry oppa, you thought remorsefully.  For the next week, you had purposefully avoided Min Hyuk. This meant waking up early in the morning, to skip breakfast with the family with the pretense of going out for a morning jog. Dinners solved itself, as Min Hyuk would always return home late from training. You would lie in bed with the lights off from 10 onwards, which was the earliest he could reach home. Even on days where he didn't have training, you would avoid being alone with him, excusing yourself from meals early to hide in the refuge of your room. It was extreme, but it was the only way you could keep your feelings from growing, and to give hye won some time with him. It was painful, extremely painful to hear Hye won telling you more about the guy she likes; he sings really well, and has this great smile, and is often stuck at training, all while pretending you didn't know she was talking about him. He who had gradually stolen your heart without you even realizing, until it was too late. It took a lot out of you, both emotionally and physically. Probes from your father, aunt and hye won about why you seemed so weary recently, were met with excuses, all kinds of excuses. The cold weather, something you ate wrong, and the ever-successful excuse: it was that time of the month. All was going well until Thursday. For some oddly coincidental reason, Min Hyuk ended training early. It was nine at night, and you wanted to get something from the shared bathroom on the second floor. With swift and light footsteps, you walked along the vast hallway. Suddenly, at the stairwell adjoined to the side of the hallway, appeared a tired looking Min Hyuk. If you continued waking forward, you would definitely meet him face to face. Crap! You abruptly turned around, panic written all over your face. You started to briskly walk in the other direction, heading back to your room. "Hold it right there," a stern voice interrupted your thoughts of running away. You stopped in your tracks, halted by his sudden actions. With your back still facing him, your heart beat frantically, caught off guard by the unexpected confrontation. "why are you avoiding me", he exclaimed, frustration and suspicion mingled in his tone. You could tell that he was still rather far away from you, and you needed the space. Right now, your heart was hurting from pain, guilt and remorse. But you couldn't let on to the real reason behind your actions. "oh Oppa, I'm not avoiding you. It's just that you're so busy recently and..." you  defended with a pseudo-everything's all a misunderstanding-voice. You were stopped when you felt someone grab your wrist roughly, before spinning you around to face him. Him and his questioning gaze, eyes shimmering with anger and disbelief. He didn't let go of your hand, but tightened his grip on you instead. "Don't give me that. Don't you think I know you better than that?!" he said harshly while piercing you with his intense gaze. Seeing the hurt reflected in his eyes, the pain that gripped your heart almost overwhelmed the throbbing pain radiating from your wrist. Your eyes Welled up, as your lips started to tremble. "oppa... You're hurting me." you whimpered in pain, while trying to wrench your wrist away from his iron grip. You looked down, away from his gaze and the first tear rolled down your cheek. "oppa!!! It hurts!!!" you shouted when he didn't let go of you, looking up to meet his eyes with fresh tears that spilled over. It seemed to resonate within him this time; maybe it was the desperation in your trembling voice or seeing the stream of tears  that decorated your pale, frail face. Min Hyuk eyes widened upon seeing your vulnerable state, and he slowly released you from his grip, his hand falling limply by his side. You let the tears fall freely as you gulped for breath, the tears choking you. The glistened layer of tears that covered your eyes did nothing to stop you from turning away from him, and running back to your room.  <~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<<<<<<~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~