Maybe if she hadn’t stayed rooted to the spot, she wouldn’t have watched Mir’s back as he walked away from her. She probably would have stayed that way, motionless like a statue, if Jaesun hadn’t placed his hand on her shoulder and literally shook her from her trance.

Even still, Minah’s eyes had a dazed, far-away look to them as if she wasn’t seeing what was right in front of her. The only thing she could see at the moment was Mir’s figure walking away from her over and over again.

His last words to her echoed and reverberated throughout her mind, bouncing back and hitting her with ten times the force each time. It made the pain practically unbearable.

However, his words also made her stop and think. Was there truth to his accusations? Did she really forget her friends while she tried to help Jaesun? Was she only helping Jaesun because she subconsciously noticed the similarities in his personality and Byunghee’s?

The questions were a little too much for her combined with the initial shock from being kissed by Jaesun. The next thing she knew, Jaesun had gently taken her by the arm and was now leading her somewhere. She had no idea where they were headed.

Minah could only register Jaesun’s voice as he spoke to her. She guessed that he was trying to comfort her or console her in some way since his tone was tender and soothing. Her mind didn’t register the words though. They sounded fuzzy and distorted.

It felt like centuries had gone by before the pair approached a door. Jaesun pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked it; leading Minah inside to what she assumed was his house.

---

“Alright, you can sit here while I go get something warm for you to drink.” Jaehwa glanced at Minah and wondered if she had even understood what he had said to her. For the past five minutes, she had seemed more like a zombie than a person.

This is exactly the right moment for me to strike. She’s so broken up she won’t care. Jaehwa thought as he rifled through his nearly empty cupboards. As a college student living alone, he struggled with paying all his expenses and providing food for himself. However, at that moment he didn’t want to think about it. So, like always, he preoccupied his mind with thoughts of girls. Lewd images of the girl sitting in his living room appeared in his head and he felt his body burn with desire for her.

Quickly grabbing a cup and filling it with lukewarm tea, Jaehwa scurried out into his living room only to find the place empty of human presence. Minah had disappeared without a trace. The now frantic Jaehwa dropped the cup and began searching through his small, rented home for the girl.

First, he checked the bathroom and found nothing. The only other rooms were his bedroom and a closet that was meant for coats. He skipped the closet and went straight for his room.

There, he saw his school agenda open on his desk. Walking over to it, Jaehwa peered down at the message written in feminine handwriting.

Sorry Jaesun-ssi. I didn’t feel too good so I went home.

                                                -Minah

With a frustrated groan, Jaehwa flung his agenda across the room. He had waited for so long for the moment he had her alone in a private place but his chance flew away. Jaehwa contained his anger and knew that his chance would come eventually which managed to calm him down. Then, he left his bedroom to go clean up the mess in his living room.

A pained look came across Jaehwa’s face when he picked up the shattered remains of his deceased mother’s favorite teacup. He hadn’t meant to drop it like that. He didn’t know what had come over him. He didn’t even know why he was pursuing Minah so fervently. There was just something about her that he had to have.

Maybe, he thought, it’s the way her eyes shine just like Mom’s used to.

---

Instead of going home, Minah headed someplace else. She could practically call it her second home.

Her footsteps were unsteady and shaky as she stumbled down the street. People parted to allow a path for her to walk. They watched her with eyes that couldn’t understand her. Some of them assumed she was drunk or high. It was certain that none of their assumptions were very kind.

Minah didn’t care though. She didn’t care what strangers thought of her. What she did care about was what Mir thought of her. Minah hoped with all she had that Mir didn’t truly mean what he had said. She wanted to go to school tomorrow and see Mir smiling at her like he always did. The fear of not seeing that gripped her tightly and made it hard for her to breathe.

The air started to clear and her steps became more certain when she saw a familiar figure exiting a building. She broke out into a run as a stray tear trickled down her cheek. The figure looked up once he heard the approaching footsteps. A surprised smile flashed across his face and he opened his arms to welcome Minah.

Flying into his arms, Minah hugged her older brother as if her life depended on it. Yongguk was shocked at the way she clung so tightly to him and immediately knew something was wrong. With a tender look in his eyes, Yongguk embraced his baby sister. He was determined to protect her and punish anyone who dared to hurt her.

After a while, Minah finally let go of her brother and looked up at him. He gazed back, concern written all over his face.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” he asked. “If it’s a boy, just tell me his name and oppa will beat him up for you.” He grinned and gained a little hope when he heard Minah laugh softly.

“Before I tell you, can we go to your place first?”

“Sure, anything for you princess.” Yongguk kneeled down in front of her and she stared at him, puzzled. “Get on my back. Since I never got to carry you when you were a kid, I’ll do it now.”

Minah beamed at him, her mood much better than before. She climbed onto his back and he stood up. “Hang on tight!”

The two siblings laughed freely as Yongguk ran down the street towards his home. In his mind, Yongguk imagined that he was ten and Minah was four and they were going back home after playing at the park. His heart ached at the fact that it wasn’t a memory but merely a figment of his imagination. He had always yearned to be able to go back to the past and watch his baby sister grow up. But since that wasn’t possible anymore, he wanted to help her become an adult.

---

“So, can you tell me what happened now?” Yongguk asked as he placed a hot cup of tea on the table for Minah. She sighed and picked up the cup, glad to feel the warmth in her hands.

“I got into a fight with Mir today. He said some things and then he left.” She debated whether or not she should tell Yongguk that Jaesun had kissed her but decided to spare the boy’s life. She would deal with that tomorrow.

“It doesn’t seem like just a fight. You two bicker all the time but I’ve never seen you so down like this before. What really happened?” asked Yongguk. Minah nearly laughed when she heard Yongguk’s reply. He could always tell when she was lying.

“He…accused me of not caring about him or the others. He thought I was getting closer to Jaesun-ssi and that I was eventually going to forget about them.”

“But that’s not true, right?”

“Of course it’s not true! I love Mir and the others and I would never just forget about them,” Minah shouted. Yongguk gently took the cup from her hands and placed it on the table. Then, he held her hands and smiled softly at her.

“I know you do. So you don’t need to worry about anything. Just tell Mir what you told me. He’ll forgive you. And if that doesn’t work, I could always teach him a lesson,” Yongguk responded. “Now, do you want me to take you home?”

Shaking her head, Minah stared down at the ground. “Can I stay here tonight? I’ll wake up early tomorrow so I won’t be late for school.”

Yongguk patted her head and stood up. “Sure. You can sleep in my bed tonight. I’ll sleep on the couch.” He left the room to go grab an extra pillow and blanket.

Thanks Yongguk oppa. I can always count on you. Minah glanced at her brother when he walked back in the room and smiled at him. After helping him set up his sleeping area, they sat next to one another on the couch wrapped up in the blanket and talked about the most random things for the rest of the day.

---

Minah walked into school the next day alone. She had texted Joon the day before and told him it was alright to leave without her. She rushed through the halls towards Mir’s first class and hoped to run into him before his class started.

She saw Cheondoong and Seungho on the way but skipped by them with a quick “hello”. They watched her go with bewildered looks on their faces. Neither of them knew what had happened between Mir and Minah yet.

“What’s up with her today?” Cheondoong asked. Seungho shrugged as his eyes remained glued to her disappearing figure.

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen her like that before.”

“Well, maybe she’s just trying to get in some morning exercise,” said Cheondoong. Scoffing, Seungho began to walk away.

“You have the lamest jokes,” Seungho replied.

“What? I thought it was pretty funny.” Cheondoong grinned as he picked up his pace to catch up with Seungho.

---

Mir was just about to walk into his classroom when Minah appeared in front of him. He knew she would come and find him.

“Mir! I finally found you.” Minah was slightly out of breath. She gazed up at him and saw the flat expression on his face. But, she was even more surprised when he brushed right past her and entered his classroom. He didn’t have his normal, cheeky grin on his face. He didn’t call out Minah’s name. He just ignored her like they were strangers.

Minah didn’t waste any time and rushed to her classroom, fighting back the tears.

Once she was out of sight, Mir sighed deeply and rested his head in his hands. He made a mistake and he knew it. He should have given her a chance to talk to him but he shut her out. But that was the only way he knew how to deal with his problems. He’d run away and do his best to ignore them.

It’s too late now, Mir. You ed up and now you lost her. She’ll never speak to you again, besides she already has that lucky bastard Jaesun. God, I’m such an idiot. Mir bit his lip and swiped his hand across his eyes, effectively wiping away the few tears that managed to spill.

---

…to lose everything.

---

Hello, it would mean a lot to me if you guys could also check out my oneshot contest entry for the Beyond Infinity Writing Contest.

Just click the link to the right ------> Living Art feat. OC, Hoya, Woohyun, Dongwoo

Thanks so much and thanks for reading! :)