There are three ways humans control microbes... physically, chemically, and using them in food preservation. There are six factors in physical control... or was there more than that? There was heat... cooling... um...

Miya groaned as she rubbed her pounding temples, trying to relieve herself of the headache that was beginning to form. Even the tranquil atmosphere of the quiet study floor was not able to help her as she needed to catch up on her lack of studying. She had a microbiology exam coming up soon and she had seriously fallen behind in her study schedule. Despite knowing this obvious fact, she could not get over everything that had happened yesterday.

In fact, the occurrences were the very cause of her inability to concentrate.

Especially the moment when Baek Hyun had left with Chan Yeol in order to have a little “man-to-man” talk.

It all just happened so fast and Miya found herself unable to say anything.

“Chan Yeol, how about we take a walk?”

“Huh?” Both the giant and the petite girl lifted their heads at the suggestion made by Baek Hyun as he wore a rather stern and serious façade. Miya sighed and tried to reason, “O-Oppa... I can explain everything, Chan Yeol-sshi is just-”

“I want to hear everything from him,” Miya bit her lip as she found herself unable to stand against her older brother figure and simply nodded her head after mouthing an apologetic “Sorry” towards Chan Yeol. He shook his head and gave a reassuring smile, once again, before turning to Baek Hyun and saying, “Sure, let’s go,”

“Ah, but-”

“Be sure to lock your doors,” And with that, the once acquainted girl was now left alone to wonder what would happen between the two who had just left.

I really hope Chan Yeol is okay... is there any way I can even redeem myself?

What could they have possibly talked about? Well... obviously her... Baek Hyun probably gunned Chan Yeol down with questions like “Did you two seriously just meet today?” “What do you like about her?” and maybe throw in a threat... something like... “I will kill you if you lay one finger on her,”

She bit her lip as she turned her head to give her wary eyes a break and take a look at the bleak and cool view of a late autumn day. Her mind was way too preoccupied and she sighed as she began to scold herself for taking on too many things when she knew that it would wear her out. But, then again, she reminded herself, you need to do all of this stuff.

Except, Miya didn’t really need to allow Kai to stay with her... which was really the main problem that was causing the amount of stress she was feeling.

He had come home rather late last night. In fact, late enough that she was in her room and could hear the front door opening and closing and Miya went to bed rather late last night.

I wonder where he went...

She frowned, remembering how Kai had told her, with a hint of vehemence in his voice,

“None of your business,”

Sigh.

Come on, Miya, you need to get to class...

With one last sigh, Miya stood up from her seat to gather her study materials and quietly made her way to the exit and to the building where her next class would be.

That Miya girl...

Chan Yeol flopped around on his messy bed as he found himself in a rather interesting situation.

Well... all thanks to his troublemaker of a brother, Kim Jong In.

He snickered remembering everything that had happened earlier yesterday. So much had occurred in just one day and Chan Yeol couldn’t remember a time since he had so many things happen to him in the span of twenty four hours. – Actually... even less considering he didn’t even spend the whole day searching for Jong In or with Baek Hyun and Miya.

However, it seemed to all connect to just one thing, or should he say, person.

Lee Miya...

As expected, the conversation Baek Hyun and Chan Yeol had was centered around Miya, but it also became a moment of revelation for both parties involved in the talk. Chan Yeol also believed that he had even earned a new friend – despite the “friend’s” denial.

“Look, I’m going to be straight forward here and I don’t like to beat around the bushes, but, how do you know Miya?”

“Like I said, I just met her today,” Baek Hyun furrowed his eyebrows in disbelief and it seemed that he was more than convinced that Chan Yeol was Miya’s boyfriend or something. Chan Yeol noticed this and quickly added in, “No, I’m not her boyfriend, if that’s what you’re thinking,”
 

“... Are you sure?”

“Positive. And, hey, we’re having a guy talk here. I won’t lie, so, you shouldn’t either,” The shorter guy shot a rather annoyed look, but seemed to see eye to eye with Chan Yeol as he nodded his head in agreement. It was now the other’s turn to begin asking questions.

“So, how do you know Miya?”

“She’s like my little sister. We first met when she transferred over to my high school years ago and... well, just to cut a long story short, we became really close and I’ve  gotta take care of her,”

Chan Yeol was able to sense that there was much more to the story, but decided not to press on too much on their particular relationship, but, rather, approach the matter in a different direction. “So, that explains why Miya was panicking when she found out that you were there. ‘Cause you would beat up any guy that was close to her?”

“That applies to you, too, buddy,” Though the much taller boy chuckled a bit at the statement, he really understood the true meaning and emotions behind his words and, in a way, could sympathize with him. He was an older brother to someone, too, and he knew very well that he would seriously kill anyone who would hurt his sibling – especially if his sibling happened to be a younger sister.

“Gotcha, then... why is Miya living all by herself?” Hearing the question, Baek Hyun’s lips curved downwards into a frown as Chan Yeol felt as though he had hit a particularly sensitive part.

Mirroring Baek Hyun’s same expression, Chan Yeol’s lips had also formed into a frown as he couldn’t help but feel the tight sensation in his chest that the former must have felt.

... Who would have thought?

“Sorry about that...”

“Nah, you don’t have to be. I mean, it’s not about me, anyways,” Chan Yeol still couldn’t help but feel bad, especially with getting the conversation on a rather somber path and creating a dreary atmosphere. He would have never thought that was Miya’s case and, to see her so... almost, unaffected, was rather shocking. Talk about resilience at its strongest.

“But... anyways... I really just want to get to the point... how did you end up meeting Miya today?”

... Hmm...

Chan Yeol began to ponder on whether or not he should directly tell Baek Hyun the truth about his missing brother. Trying to put himself in Miya’s shoes, the giant imagined that she wouldn’t want him to know... considering all the trouble she had gone through to keep himself hidden...

However, from the way Baek Hyun had described Miya... and from getting to know her, even from the few moments he had talked to her, why did she seem so anxious? What real reason did she have for all the trouble?

‘This girl...’

“Well...” It would all be revealed later, right? But... would telling Baek Hyun trouble Miya in any way?

‘No lying... all truths...’

It would probably even help Miya if Chan Yeol told him, so that she wouldn’t have to face his wrath once he was in the “heat of the moment”.

“It looks like my brother is living with her,”

“... WHAT!?”

Okay, Chan Yeol could understand – completely – where Miya was coming from...

“YOUR brother is LIVING with HER?”

“Well, I’m pretty sure since she recognized him when I showed her a picture of him,”

“What? So then...” Baek Hyun rubbed his temples in frustration and let out a distressed groan. He ran a stiff hand through his ruffled hair. “That explains it... Aish, what is this girl doing?”

“I’d like to ask that my brother that,”

“So, answer me this, why is your brother living with my sister?” It was at that point that Chan Yeol found himself the most troubled and he furrowed his brows in contemplation. Answering the question truthfully would be completely going into Chan Yeol’s personal family life and he wondered whether or not he should cross the line. Also, considering how his family was, in fact, a wealthy one and with their current family situation...

‘... Should I?’

For one thing, the larger older brother was sure that Baek Hyun did not know that he was a son to the family of the Haneul Hotel Chain. Perhaps he should keep it that way – of course, he was speaking on Kai’s behalf, as well.

“Well, to put it in short terms, my brother ran away and, I guess, found a place to live... which would be Miya’s place,”

From the way Baek Hyun was pacing around, almost relentlessly, and the mumbling that could be heard just under his breath, he was most likely trying to make sense of the case at hand and thinking of ways to get Miya to confess to him.

‘Jong In-ah, you caused such a mess...’

Chan Yeol frowned at his immature brother’s actions and was clearly able to see the effects of them.

‘Maybe I should just drag him back...’

“Thanks, Chan Yeol. Seriously. Miya probably wouldn’t have ever told me what’s really going on with her. Aish, this girl...” Baek Hyun kicked a pebble which happened to be sitting by its lonesome self on the sidewalk and, with the little kick, it had joined its many other friends and family. Chan Yeol couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at Baek Hyun, wondering why the latter was acting in such a way.

He didn’t seem too angry at all.

“So, you’re not mad at her?”

“... No, I’m furious at her,”

As expected.

“But... Miya was just being Miya and... sometimes when she’s being Miya, she’s just...” The shorter one found himself opening and closing his mouth multiple times as he made a painful expression, trying to complete his sentence and find the right words to complete it. Chan Yeol blinked at the scene to the side of him.

“She’s... a lot of things,”

Hearing the statement, Chan Yeol couldn’t help but chuckle and go along with it. He, in a way, also agreed with it, and he believed the statement to be fairly accurate, judging from his encounter with the subject of the talk.

‘I just wonder how many and what those “things” are...’

“I just wished... she told me herself, y’know?”

“Yeah, I see where you’re coming from,”

“But, yeah, thanks again, Chan Yeol,” Baek Hyun extended out his hand in a friendly gesture which Chan Yeol took with a contagious smile.

“... Oh, but you better get your brother out of Miya’s place,”

While scratching the back of his neck, the troublemaker’s sibling let out a sigh and grinned. “Er, I’ll do my best,”

“Good,”

From that point on, Chan Yeol was able to convince Baek Hyun to hang out to grab a drink while they discussed other things. Admittedly, it did take a bit of topic jumping and jokes to get an uptight Baek Hyun to stop worrying about Miya, but he managed to do so. In the little time they did talk about her, though, Chan Yeol didn’t mind at all. Of course, the older brother figure didn’t reveal too much, seeing as though he still seemed to be wary of Chan Yeol, but it was enough to cause him to wonder just what kind of person Miya was.

Over reactive.

Kind.

Indecisive.

The three words put together into a description of a person made for one very entertaining person.

Seeing as though Chan Yeol had to make sure his younger brother was doing alright, he was positive he would be visiting the place again and, thus, would be seeing Miya.

And, believe it or not...

He was actually excited.

“Se Hun-ah,”

“Hey! It’s been weeks since you last called me,” The tone in his voice matched perfectly with a pout, which, Kai was sure, was plastered on his best friend’s face. “Sorry, Se Hun. I was just getting used to my new place and...”

Should he say it?

“... You saw Soo Yun, didn’t you?”

....

Ah, he was caught.

“I knew it. You’re still all lovey-dovey with Soo Yun and can’t stand being away from her for just even a minute, huh? It’s amazing how you were able to get through a month without her,”

“Yah!”

“Hey, it’s true,” Kai decided to ignore the statement once again as he decided to move onto another topic. “So, since I’ve been ‘ignoring’ you for the past...”

“Two weeks,”

“... Two weeks, do you want to hang out some time?”

“Yeah, sure, it’s about time! You know, Su Ho and Kyung Soo have been wondering where you went, too,”

“I haven’t been able to get a hold of them,”

“Don’t worry, your good ol’ buddy Se Hun acted as your messenger,”

“Thanks, can always count on you,”

“Alright, so when do you want to meet?”

“Mmm...”

Kai continued discussing plans of where he and his group of friends would meet, completely carefree and content with his date last night. However, he was completely unaware of all the revelations that had just occurred and what would soon be happening.

Another chapter done!

So, I'm going to try and get as many chapters done as possible before I head back to school for another semester OTL Hopefully I'll be able to get in two more chapters within the next week and a half~ I also apologize for the rather quick editing of this chapter and for any mistakes you may see ^^'

As always, any feedback, comments, subscriptions, etc. are welcomed~! I would also like to hear your thoughts on the story, such as:

1. How do you think the relationships are progressing?

2. What do you think will be revealed about Miya's background?

3. What do you think will happen?

Thanks so much for sticking with me and I will see you guys in the next chapter! ^o^ <3