Sandeul’s home…

“ Nae sarang-ah~ Nae sarang-ah~~” Sandeul kept on practicing until he reached the right notes.

All of a sudden, there was an urgent knock on the door. He dragged himself to the door to listen to the knock again. The loud thud sounded again.

“ Baro?” Sandeul called out his name as he opened the door.

A man dressed in a suit greeted him.

“ Hello. I’m Lee Won-Min, CEO of WM entertainment. May I have a word with Lee Sandeul please?” the man requested to see Sandeul.

“ I’m Lee Sandeul.”

Thirty minutes passed as the both of them discussed over things. Sandeul gently placed the papers on the table.

“ So you’re telling me that I can become a singer by signing these papers?” he question the CEO.

“ Yes, we’ve seen your audition tapes and our scout has seen you performed. We’re very pleased and think that your talent is very much appreciated in our company.”

Sandeul scratched his neck and gave an awkward smile. One of the conditions of the contract made his heart shrink. It was a no dating policy. He had to stay away from family and friends by living in the dorm provided by the company. Just like Yoona, he will become a trainee to pursue his career as a singer. It was really a good opportunity.

“ I’ll give you a weeks time. Think about it. WM will be waiting for your answer.” The man bowed and walked out of the house.

Sandeul blankly stared into the piece of paper. This was what he had been waiting for all of his life. It felt like a dream, it was too good to be true. Everything was too perfect for him.

“ Am I really not dreaming?” Sandeul pinched himself.

“ AH!” he rubbed his cheeks after doing so.

He sighed and placed the papers aside. There was no way he could throw Ah-ra aside. After all, he was the one who ignited the relationship. He messed his hair up and ran to the kitchen. He gulped down a bottle of water.

“ Let me call Ah-ra to hear what she has to say about this.” He wiped his mouth and fished his phone out.

He walked back and forth the living room, but she was still not picking up.

“ The number you have dialed is not available. Please try again later.” The server said.

“ Where are you… it’s only 8pm…you can’t be sleeping right?” he mumbled to himself and plopped on to the sofa.

He sighed and moved his hands to the remote control. He switched channels and occupied his time by watching TV programs.

“ Haha! Ahaha!” he laughed and pointed hysterically at the TV screen.

All of a sudden, the curtains started to flap like crazy. The wind was so strong that he could feel the raindrops entering his house.

" What is this? Raining all of a sudden... I guess it's the starting of the monsoon season." Sandeul uttered those words and at the same time closed all the windows shut.

“ Deul-ah! Deul-ah! Hurry up! I’m getting drenched!” Baro screamed on the top of his lungs as he banged on the door.

Sandeul slapped his forehead and dragged himself to the door. For once, he wanted some peace and personal time to himself. By the time, he had reached the door, it was swung open by his best friend.

“ Ah. Curses. It just had to rain as soon as I walked up the stairs.” Baro complained and threw his jacket aside.

Sandeul disgustingly pointed to his jacket to stop him but it was too late. The floor was wet.

“ Yah! Just because I’m your best friend doesn’t mean you can barge into my house and do anything that you like. Pfft. No manners.” He grumbled and picked up Baro’s jacket and hung it up neatly.

“ Well, you’re my servant. I bring home the money, you’re only left with feeding me. Oh wait. Did I forget something? Tadah!” Baro uncovered a familiar black plastic bag.

“ I love you!” Sandeul ran to him and grabbed the food.

10 minutes later…

“ Ah… I’m full.” Sandeul dropped his chopsticks and leaned against the chair.

“ Oh? What’s this?” Baro picked up the papers that were on the table.

He started to read it. There was a slight smile on his face.

“ This is great! So what did you say to them?” he enquired.

“ Umm… Actually I’m given seven days to think about it.” Sandeul tried to explain but kept on hesitating.

“ So what are you waiting for?! Just sign it!” Baro excitedly eyed the papers and changed his attention to his friend.

However, Sandeul didn’t look quite good.

“ Like those idols…it has a no dating policy. I can’t possibly hide my relationship right?” he added on.

Baro sighed and pouted. He scratched his head to try to come out with something to say.

“ Well, it’s not like we can throw her aside right? Umm… maybe you should discuss it with her.” He suggested to Sandeul.

Sandeul agreed and flashed a bright smile to Baro.

“ Eh~ Love is written all over your face.” Baro joked and placed the papers aside.

Sandeul shook his head violently and started to blush thinking about the person he loved. All of a sudden he started to laugh, he hugged himself and spun around the room. He hummed the song ‘crush’ as he danced.

“ You like her that much?” Baro raised his eyebrows and asked his friend.

Sandeul moved his head up and down but didn’t answer. His eyes sparkled at the thought of her.

“ I really like her. My heart pounds at the thought of her and I start to feel this… this weird feeling in my stomach. Cha Baro, is this really love?” he turned around and grabbed his best friend.

“ It’s only been like what? Two months? I can’t really call that love.” Baro tried to judge the situation.

All of a sudden, Sandeul jumped.

“ Oh my god! Tomorrow is our two-month anniversary! I totally forgot about the first month! How did we both forget?!” he reminded himself and stared into Baro’s eyes in disbelief.

“ You were too caught up with your problems. That’s why. You didn’t even love her when you asked her to be your girlfriend. You’ll get punished for it Lee Sandeul.” Baro chided him.

“ Punished?”

“ I’m just joking. She’s such an angel… Can you believe it? Ten years of acting? Fifteen years of waiting…” Baro shook his head while folding his arms.

Sandeul’s eyes widened at the mention of ’15 years.’

“ 15 years?” he responded.

Baro covered his mouth and realized that he had accidentally blurted a secret that only Ah-ra and Jinyoung told him.

“ Spit it out.” Sandeul hissed.

20 minutes later…

“ Daebak. Baro, doesn’t that mean she loves Jinyoung? Oh? 15 years?! How did she even pretend to not remember him on the first day of school? Was that the reason why she had a panic attack? Because she was hurt by his actions? Baro! Tell me… I’m not thinking too much right?” Sandeul clutched his chest as he tried to breathe.

“ I doubt it. She’s over Jinyoung. Especially after him dating her sister- Oh no.” Baro slapped himself after revealing another confidential story.

Sandeul dropped his body to the couch and stared at the ceiling in doubt.

“ It’s not what you’re thinking. Sandeul-ah, Dal-rae and Jinyoungie hyung broke up a long time ago. Since Ah-ra and Jinyoung are childhood friends, her family had set up an engagement party for her.” Baro continued to explain but was instead making matters worst.

“ Engagement party? I heard that from Dal-rae but you explained that part to me in the cab. Even the childhood friends part. Don’t tell me… the engagement party is going to be held on her birthday?!” Sandeul shrieked and ran to grab the birthday invitation that Dal-rae had given to him earlier on.

“ How did you know?” Baro questioned him.

Sandeul shook his head and crushed the invitation card in his hands. The thought of his sister trying to frame Ah-ra made him angry.

“ Noona. She had purposely given me this invitation card so that I would witness the engagement party and get upset with Ah-ra for betraying me. So that I would change my mind…She’s not the sister I know. She changed, how can she be so cruel?! It’s her own little sister!” he bit his lips.

Baro snatched the card away from him and tried to calm him down. He patted his back and pressed Sandeul’s hands.

“ Chill. Now you know Dal-rae’s true colors.” He spoke and tried to comfort his best friend.

“ I’ll have to tell her the truth sooner or later. This is just too much…” Sandeul clasped his hands together as he uttered those words.

-------------------------------------

Ah-ra ran in her flip-flops and realized that it was starting to rain. 

" What am I going to do? Ah...my phone. I'm going to get drenched." she sought cover at the bus stop.

The bus stop was starting to get filled by people who sought shelter from the rain. Ah-ra kept peeking repeatedly to see whether the rain was ever going to stop. She pouted and cupped her chin with her hands. The bus came one by one and people started to board the bus. Soon, the bus stop was quite empty.

“ I guess I’ll have to take a cab.” Ah-ra whined and walked towards the sidewalk to hail a cab.

However, she remembered that she hadn’t brought her wallet along with her.

“ Ah! Babo! I forgot to bring my wallet along with me. I can’t possibly run back home now right?” she bit her lips and thought hard.

Ah-ra exhaled slowly and covered her head. She continued the journey by running all the way to his house. It was tiring but she thought it was going to be worth it. After all it was only a fifteen-minute drive from her house. By foot, it was probably going to take around 45 minutes? Boy, was she wrong.

“ Where am I?” she looked around confusingly and started to panic.

The alley was so dark it was hard to differentiate the massive mansions. The only time she had came here was with her brother and she didn’t really focus. She regretted it.

“ What am I going to do…” she bit her lips and ran around trying to at least find someone to ask for directions. The rain was starting to get heavy.

By now, she was drenched. Her flip-flops failed on her, they tore and she had to walk barefooted. She ran a hand through her hair and got desperate.

“ Jinyoung oppa!” She screamed. Praying that he could hear her.

On the other hand…

“ Oh? I think I heard someone calling you.” Yoona turned to look at him.

Jinyoung held the red umbrella close to Yoona so that the torrential rain wouldn’t soak her. At first he had thought that his ears were playing on him, he had thought he had heard Ah-ra’s voice. He got a little bit worried, but he was sure that Ah-ra was now home since he had received the text from Baro saying that she was home.

“ Yoona. Could you hold the umbrella for me? Just for a moment.” He politely requested and fished out the smartphone from his pocket.

Yoona nodded and received the red umbrella from him. She tried to peek but was only stopped by Jinyoung.

“ Araso…heung…what a cousin.” Yoona pouted and complained.

“ Just because you’re my cousin…it doesn’t give you the rights to read my texts. You should go hang out with Gongchan. He seems to be interested in you.” Jinyoung added on.

“ Gongchan?  Chan Shik, you mean?” she answered him.

Jinyoung only nodded his head and focused on his phone.

“ What’s this? A love amulet?” Yoona questioned him and touched the amulet that was dangling from his phone.

“ Yah! Don’t touch this. It’s precious.” He chided her and softly touched the amulet.

“ It’s pretty. Where did you get it? I want to buy one too!” she exclaimed.

All of a sudden, a gush of wind greeted them.

“ I was given this at the Hampyeong butterfly festival one year ago, the old lady said that my true love would appear in front of me whenever the bell rang. I was skeptical at first…but I met the girl. She was owned! Stupid old lady.” Jinyoung cursed and dialed for Baro’s number.

Baro: Oh? Hyung?

Jinyoung: Is Ah-ra with you?

Baro: Nope. I’m home. She’s at home. Don’t worry.

Jinyoung: Thank goodness. I’ve been hearing things I guess. Well, good night to you.

Baro: Hyung! Wait!

Jinyoung: What? It’s raining, make it fast.

Baro: Isn’t it tiring to always hide from Ah-ra? You’re like a guardian angel. It makes me frustrated to see you always hiding away from her. The Hampyeong Butterfly Festival, each morning when she goes to school and not forgetting the day you helped Sandeul. You were standing outside the café observing her.

Jinyoung: Well, I’m a certified stalker. As long as she’s happy, I’m happy too. You, Baro, only have to take care of her for me. It’s hard for me so please take care of her for me.

Baro: Araso. Hyung. I will definitely take good care of her.

Jinyoung: Take care. Bye.

Jinyoung hung up and gave a sigh of relief. He turned to his cousin to take the umbrella from her hands. The both of them ran towards his house. All of a sudden, he heard the ringing of his love amulet.

“ Oh! Jinyoung-ah! It’s ringing!” Yoona exclaimed excitedly and her eyes sparkled.

Jinyoung scratched his head and looked at it confusingly. He knew that Ah-ra wasn’t anywhere near him or was she? He pushed Yoona into the house and took the umbrella along and ran off.

“ Yah! Jung Jinyoung! Where are you going? What am I going to tell your father?” Yoona screamed but to no avail.

He had already disappeared into the dark alley. He frantically searched for her everywhere. He scoured the whole place in search of her.

“ Was I mistaken? Maybe it wasn’t her… I’m crazy!” Jinyoung slapped himself and decided to return back home.

It was not until he saw a pair of flip-flops at the corner of the wall. It was similar to what Ah-ra would always wear. He had seen it in her house before.

“ Shin Ah-ra!” he cried out for her and grabbed the damaged flip-flops in his hands.

Ah-ra shivered in the cold and sought shelter at the nearest bus stop near Jinyoung’s house. After seeing him with Yoona, her heart broke into a million pieces. She assumed that he had finally gotten over Dal-rae and had now given his heart to Yoona, so she stood no chance to confess to him anymore.

“ I should have known… Shin Ah-ra, get a hold of yourself. You have Sandeul… what are you going to do with him?” she sighed and hugged herself from the cold.

She perfectly knew that it was wrong to feel that way especially after accepting Sandeul’s heart.

“ But I love Jinyoung… I waited 15 years just for him. How am I supposed to forget him? I deserve to die. I’m afraid to hurt you…” she bit her lips and stared at her barefooted feet.

She had blisters all over feet after running away from the scene, not to mention a deep gash on her knee after slipping due to the slippery pavement. She tried to take out her phone from her pocket, it was already soaked and no doubt damaged.

“ How am I supposed to call Shinwoo oppa!” Ah-ra screamed and smashed her phone to the ground.

Jinyoung came running to the bus stop. His heart was about to pop out when he saw her familiar silhouette. He dropped the umbrella and ran towards her.

“ Yah! Shin Ah-ra! Are you stupid or something?!” he yelled at her and grabbed her.

She totally froze and her eyes widened. She couldn’t believe it, Jinyoung was right in front of her. It felt like a dream.

“ Yah! Are you alright?” Jinyoung panicked and removed his jacket immediately to cover her up.

He tried to calm himself down by sitting next to her. He scrambled for his bag and dug for something; it was a handkerchief. Without saying a word, he dried her face up and wiped her hands dry. He stopped as soon as he saw her wounded knee and bruised feet.

He blinked twice and forced himself to not to look at it. He tried his best to not act like he was concerned because of what he had said earlier on to her in school. Plus, the three weeks that he had invested and worked hard on to avoid her was going to go to the drain.

However, he just didn’t bear to leave her. He secretly wanted to be by her side. He stood up and picked up her battered phone. While doing so, he bent forward. Ah-ra only kept on blinking, which made him frustrated.

“ Get on my back.” He reluctantly muttered.

She kept on blinking, still in a daze.

“ Did I just get hit by a truck…and didn’t realize that I’m dead? How did he find me here?” she thought to herself and shut her eyes.

Jinyoung bit his upper lip and observed her. He knew exactly what was going on through her mind.

“ Listen. You’re injured. Get on my back. I’m sorry for whatever I said earlier on in school. So, get on my back before that wound leaves a scar.” He tried to be patient and not scare her.

Ah-ra wrapped her arms around his neck and was swiftly carried on his back. Jinyoung kept quiet and didn’t utter a single word. Since it was raining, he kept on walking back and forth the shelter. He knew doing so was going to make her speak. He was right.

“ Oppa.” She voiced out.

Jinyoung only nodded his head and cleared his throat.

“ Why are you walking back and forth?” she asked again.

“ It’s raining.” He simply answered her.

“ Then put me down. We can sit.” Ah-ra tried to get down from his back.

“ No. Just stay like this. At least you won’t feel cold and I don’t have to hug you.” Jinyoung thought to himself.

“ Oppa?” she called out for him since he wasn’t answering her.

Again, Jinyoung ignored her. Ah-ra turned her face to the side so that she wouldn’t be able to see his face. After all, she was just a ‘parasite’ to him. Little did she know that he was secretly listening to the beat of her heart.

Ah-ra bit her lips and shut her eyes tightly. The stinging sensation on her knee made her cringe.

“ Ah…that looks painful.” Yoona squinted and passed Jinyoung the bandage.

He gently covered up Ah-ra’s wound and rubbed some ointment on it. He picked up an ear bud and dab it with the sanitizing ointment and started to apply small amount of it around her feet. He painfully stared at Ah-ra who was trying to control her tears.

“ Done. Is it that painful?” he voiced out and tried to comfort her.

She nodded and covered her face, probably embarrassed by her foolish actions.

“ Jinyoung-ah, did you call her brother?” his father enquired.

“ Oh. Shinwoo told her to stay for the night since it’s the holidays and it’s still raining quite heavily.” Jinyoung remarked.

“ She can stay in your room.” His father answered him.

Jinyoung’s eyes widened and his jaw literally dropped.

“ HER? In my room?” he pointed to Ah-ra with a shocked face.

“ Yes, in your room. You’ll sleep in the study room tonight. Go get her a set of new clothing. Ah-ra agasshi, I've already prepared the hot bath for you. Here's the towel.” His father added on and changed his attention to Ah-ra.

Jinyoung zoomed into his room and started to shove his dirty clothings into his wardrobe. Since he didn't have a mother to clean up after him, he had always been delaying doing his house chores. He wiped off the dust from his table. He grabbed a new sheet for the mattress and made sure his bed looked clean and tidy. 

" Done." Jinyoung wiped his hands and was satisfied with the results.

Yoona however nosily barged into his room.

" You should maybe spray some perfume around the room. It smells." she suggested and wittingly ran out of the room before he could flick her forehead.

Jinyoung grabbed his favorite pillow and blanket to the study room. He sighed at the thought of sleeping on the cold floor. He leaned against the wall and picked a random book to read while he waited for Ah-ra to finish bathing.

" Ha...let's see what we have here." he flipped the book open and nodded his head at every page.

Jinyoung slammed the book close and thought for a moment.

" Wait! Why did she even come running in the rain looking for me?" he thought to himself. A part of him was dying to ask her that.

He slowly crawled to the door of his study room and waited for her to step out of the toilet. He could hear the dripping sound coming from the bath tub.

---------------

(A/N: Hahah...yes. She was finding Jinyoung. She was too shocked to even tell him her true feelings. Maybe in the nxt chapter? Ok, the reason why the bell always rang around Baro was because I wanted to make it look like it was Baro. But it wasn't because whenever the bell rang, Jinyoung was always there, just that I didn't want to include him in to trick all of you. Jinyoung is an accomplished stalker in my story. Haha. The Hampyeong Butterfly Festival, the reason Jinyoung was there was because he wanted to go there to relinquish the memories of him and Dal-rae. Remember the chapter where that was a butterfly in Dal-rae's hands and she asked for blessing from her mother? It was at the Hampyeong butterfly festival too. If I'm not wrong, it's chapter 8.

 When Ah-ra wanted to go to school with Baro, the bell rang because Jinyoung was hiding behind a car to see whether she was fine. Finally, the part where he left the umbrella with Sandeul to actually make things better for Ah-ra. He was actually there the whole time making sure everything was going well. I hope this answers all of your doubts. xD. I can't help but feel sorry for Sandeul...

Thank you for reading and do leave comments! ^^)