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At the bus,

Zelo sighed as he wiped away the tears that were threatening to fall from the corner of his eyes. *Even Jinhee thinks the same.* He thought as he sniffed.

“Just what is so good about him? Our heights are not that different.  My skin is paler than him. I’m… I’m..” Zelo sighed. There was nothing else he could think of. No matter what, Chanyeol is someone whom he can’t compare to. “Right. He’s better than me. In every single way. There’s no way I could beat him.” He mumbled sadly as he pouted.

“He’s smart. He’s handsome. He’s the legitimate son. He’s everyone’s favorite… even Jinhee’s. Even my girlfriend likes him. What about me?”

*Does that mean Jinhee likes him more than she likes me?* Zelo’s eyes widened upon realization. And all this time he had always been suspecting Chanyeol of liking Jinhee. *What if Chanyeol hyung confesses to her? Then they’ll… No way. I have to talk to him.*

..

Outside Chanyeol’s house,

Zelo impatiently waited as he pressed the doorbell twice. *I have to talk to him now.* He thought as he nervously bit his lower lip. He just couldn’t wait to talk to him.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

In no time, their maid came out and upon seeing Zelo she immediately opened the door. “It’s been a long time since you visited. Your mother is not here and Chanyeol is on his way home. Come in and wait for them inside.” The maid greeted him with a smile.

Zelo sighed in relief. *Good thing Omoni’s not here. Because if she’s here, she’ll just make me feel worse.* Zelo bowed to the maid and went inside.

At the sala,

Zelo drummed his fingers on his lap as he impatiently waited on the couch. *What’s taking him so long?*

The maid walked towards him. “I just called Chanyeol and he said that he’ll be here in 15 minutes. You can go wait inside his room if you want.”

Zelo nodded politely. “Thank you.” He gave her a small smile.

As Zelo walked towards the stairs, he could remember the memories he had in this house when they were still kids. The sad part is most of them are not worth remembering.

As an adopted kid, there has not been a day wherein his mother made him feel special or loved. He was always casted away. He was always left behind. And he never felt like he was a part of the family whenever she’s around.

His father was kind to him. The only problem was he was always away. So it would be difficult to see him.

Good thing Chanyeol was always there.  He never made him feel inferior or unhappy or miserable. It was the complete opposite. Chanyeol treated him as if he was his real brother. He would always play with him. And the thing that he really liked about his brother is he would stand up against his own mother just for him. He was like a superhero who always saves his day from the witch. That’s how he viewed things when he was little.

But there were also times where he hated him. He hated his own brother because he’s always better than him in any way that’s possible. He’s always praised by their relatives. His mother boasts about him while she dejects Junhong. He hated him for being someone whom he can’t even stand next to.

And now he doesn’t even know how he feels about him. He doesn’t know if his admiration towards him is decreasing or if his hate for him is increasing bit by bit.

Zelo opened the door to Chanyeol’s room and slowly went inside. He nodded as he looked around. *As expected, he’s neat. Unlike me.* He thought with a small frown. *Even in that particular thing, I lost to him.*

He saw the small bookshelf on Chanyeol’s table. *I wonder if he still has the book I gave him before.* He thought as he looked at the books and in no time he found the book he was looking for.

“So he really kept this.” Zelo mumbled with a smile as he flipped through the pages of the book.

And that was when he noticed that something fell from the book. It was a picture. Zelo bent down to reach for it and he flipped it over.

It didn’t even have to take him 3 seconds to recognize the person in the picture. It was Jinhee without a doubt. “Why does he have a picture of her?” He asked himself with a frown.

And that’s when he heard the door click and Chanyeol went inside. “Why are you here? You should’ve told us beforehand so that we could’ve prepared you favorite foods.” Chanyeol said as he walked towards Zelo.

And that’s when he saw her holding Jinhee’s picture. The picture that he’s been looking for since he lost it. He smiled. ‘Where did you find that? I’ve been looking for that.”

“That’s not the question.” Zelo gulped as he eyed him. “Do you …like her?” He asked him with uncertainty. He wasn’t afraid to ask him. What he was afraid of is his answer. Just what will he do if Chanyeol says yes?

Chanyeol shook his head without thinking twice. “I don’t.”

Zelo smiled in relief. He was finally able to breathe now that he said he doesn’t like her. “That’s a big relief. I thought---“

“I love her.”

“It’s not funny Hyung.” Zelo commented as he tried to laugh. But he couldn’t. There wasn’t anything funny.

“I’m not joking. It’s true. I love Jinhee.”

“There’s so many girls named Jinhee. So the person you love is also named Jinhee? That’s it right?” Zelo asked eventhough he knew the answer. He just can’t accept the truth that Chanyeol loves his girlfriend.

“The girl I love is your girlfriend. Park Jinhee.” Chanyeol calmly told him. “She’s the girl I’ve been talking about before.”

“But she’s my girlfriend! And you know that! Are you doing this on purpose?” Zelo asked him with a frown.

Chanyeol brows furrowed at what he heard. “Purpose? What are you---“

“Eversince we were little, you always get everything from me. Everything that I want. A loving family, the attention that’s supposed to be mine, and everything else that you have! They always compare you with me and I always end up feeling like trash.”

“Do you think I like it?! All my life I’ve been trying to live Mom’s expectations. Do you think I like that?! Do you think I enjoy being the center of attention in our family? I was very pressured. Do you know why I did everything? It’s because of you. I don’t want you to feel burdened.” Chanyeol answered back.

Zelo shook his head with a smirk. “You don’t want me to feel burdened? But you already made me feel that. Even now you still do. And you will always do it.”

“That’s not my problem anymore.”

“Before, Mom wanted to send you overseas for you to study there because she hates you so much. And since I didn’t want you to feel sad about going there and being alone, I volunteered. And now that I think of it, if I just let you go there and if I stayed here, you wouldn’t have met Jinhee.”

Zelo narrowed his eyes on him and was about to say something but Chanyeol interfered him. “I was so jealous of you because you’re always free. You can do anything you want without worrying about what others would say and think. But you didn’t even care about those. I'm sorry. But I love Jinhee. And I won’t give her up that easily.”

Zelo shook his head. “No. She’s my girlfriend. And she loves me. You should stop whatever you’re thinking of doing right now.” Zelo told him.

“Why? Are you afraid that if I tell her how I feel she’ll just leave you behind?” Chanyeol asked him challengingly.

“No! Why would I be afraid of you?” Zelo exclaimed.

“Because she said I'm more handsome than you.” Chanyeol said.

*That's right* Zelo thought as he heavily breathed and then he eyed Chanyeol. “Let’s stop this. I love Jinhee so much. I wouldn’t take it if someone will take her away from me. Please just don’t confess to her.” Zelo pleaded.

“I’m sorry. I can’t do that. I’m the type of person who doesn’t give up easily. Since we can’t agree on this, let’s just decide using something that we both like.” Chanyeol mumbled as he grabbed a basketball from his cabinet and passed it to Junhong.

“Basketball? We’ll play?” Zelo innocently asked as he caught the ball.

Chanyeol nodded. “If I win---“

“You’ll get Jinhee from me? No way! I won’t agree on this. Ever!” Zelo exclaimed.

“It’s not like that. If you win, I’ll stop. I won’t do anything and leave the two of you alone. But If I win, I’ll confess to her and you’ll have to give her time to think for a day. You won’t talk to her for a day.” Chanyeol explained.

Zelo’s brows furrowed as he opened his mouth to protest. “What kind of rule is that?”

“Because if you talk to her, you’ll be brain washing her for sure. So if I confess to her, you won’t talk to her or text her. That’s it. As simple as that.” Chanyeol smiled. “Deal?”

*I’ll win this.* Zelo thought with determination as he nodded. “Deal.”

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Is it too long? Don’t worry, it’ll end soon. :)