Ah-ra dabbed her moist face with the dry towel. She stared into the mirror and gave a soft sigh. She felt guilty for making him run all the way to find her, after all, it was her that called out for him.

“ I shouldn’t have screamed for you. That would have saved up all the trouble. “ she bit her lips as she pasted the bandage back on her knee.

Her eyes scanned around the bathroom. It was packed with skin necessities, mostly for men. Since Jinyoung was really self-conscious about his appearance, he had invested half of his money on cosmetics.

She couldn’t help but laugh a bit. He had the ‘prince disease’. She trailed her fingers on the facial wash, it was the same brand that she was using. She shrugged her shoulders and pumped out a useful amount before smothering it on her face.

“ I’m really sorry.” She looked into the mirror and uttered those words that she was afraid of saying to him.

With that, she splashed water on her face and wrapped the towel on her neck. She carefully unlocked the door and wiped her feet on the bathroom mat.

“ I should go find Ahjusshi and apologize for being rude.” She thought to herself and rubbed her nose.

Ah-ra’s eyes widened when she saw Jinyoung sitting upright at the door. He was so still that she was afraid of walking past him, lest he beats her up for being so foolish. She quietly walked pass him, nothing happens.

“ Oh?” Ah-ra smiled at the sight.

He was sleeping peacefully with a book in his hands.  She stood in front of him and bent down to face him. She reached out for the book and placed it next to him. Her hands itched to touch his face, she slowly extended her hands to trace his facial features.

Jinyoung gulped as he felt her presence ahead of him. He could smell the familiar fragrance of his shampoo. He didn’t dare to open his eyes. He waited and waited for her to at least say something.

Ah-ra curled her fingers back into her hands and guiltily gazed at him. She stood up and left to find his father. He finally decided to peek to see if she had left.  He gradually widened his eyes and peeked.

“ You!” he wanted to scream but Yoona's hands covered his mouth.

“ Shh… so you’ve been acting like you were sleeping in front of her? Haha… sneaky Jinyoung. You like her right?” she joked and hit his shoulder playfully.

“ What are you talking about. Don’t jump into conclusions. Ah-ra and me are just-“ he tried to defend himself.

“ Friends. Well, I’ll go ask her later about how she feels about you.” She added on and nonchalantly walked to his room to wait for Ah-ra.

“ Yah. Please. Don’t. I mean… “ he exhaled slowly and tried not to raise his voice.

Jinyoung chased Yoona to his room and tried to stop her. He didn’t want her to spill the beans.

“ Fine. Yes. I like Shin Ah-ra. You know that she loves Lee Sandeul, don’t you? You’ve seen them around in class.” Jinyoung swallowed as he waited for Yoona to answer him.

She blinked her eyes twice as she observed Jinyoung.

“ Well. You don’t have to cry…just because she has a boyfriend. Look, don’t be a coward and go for her! Instead of hiding away from her, use this chance to grab her and tell her that you love her!” Yoona emphasized and squeezed his hands.

“ I’m not crying! Argh. Im Yoona, what do you know about love?” he chided her and stomped off to the study room.

She shook her head and folded her arms. 

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

“ Ahjusshi?” Ah-ra called out for Jinyoung’s father who was in the kitchen.

“ Oh? What are you doing here? Go and rest. I don’t want you to be walking around with an injured foot. Just call out for me if you need anything.” Mr. Jung pushed her to the couch to make her sit.

Like the worrywart that he was, he quickly made sure that she was alright. He made sure he wore a huge smile on his face to hide his disappointment in her. He really wanted to know the real reason behind her lies, why did she choose to live a life of loneliness?

“ Ahgasshi…” he voiced out and turned to look at her.

Ah-ra turned to look at him and widened her eyes. This was the first time she finally had a good look at the man whom she had looked at like her own father. The person to always cheer her up whenever she whined, cried and feeling down.

He was always there for her, she enjoyed being carried up onto his shoulders whenever he came to fetch her home from school. The best part was when he would swing her around and toss her in the air. He was a father figure to her.

“ How could you do this to yourself?” he sighed and reached out for her silky hands.

Ah-ra swallowed back her tears and tried not to look at him. His hairs were greying and his wrinkles became more prominent to her now. She finally realized how much time had passed against her and till now she wasn’t able to tell the people she loved about how much she appreciated them.

“ I’m sorry.” She burst out crying and covered her now burning face.

“ You fool… why are you saying sorry? I should have known better…how our Ahgasshi was suffering but I was blind to see that. You’ve grown up so much…you changed. You’re no longer the whiny little kid I knew. It saddens me to see you in this state.” He added on.

“ I’m really sorry…” that was all Ah-ra could come up with.

She started to sob even badly after seeing tears in the old man’s eyes. She immediately hugged him and begged him for forgiveness. She felt so guilty for acting cold towards him on the first day that they had met. She could finally embrace the person that took care of her during her childhood days. All that she felt now was a sense of relief.

10 minutes later…

“ Do you feel better now?” Mr. Jung patted her head and wiped her tears away.

Ah-ra nodded her head and gave a faint smile. It was good to finally release all of her suppressed feelings.  She gingerly strolled back into Jinyoung’s room. She had a throbbing headache, probably from getting drenched.

“ Ah-ra sshi!” Yoona squealed excitedly and dragged her into the room.

“ Oh. Sunbaenim.”

“ Eh~ Sunbaenim? Just call me onni.” She grinned widely and sat with Ah-ra on the bed.

Ah-ra clasped her hands together and sighed.

“ Oh? Is there something bothering you?” Yoona questioned her and wrapped her arms around her shoulder.

Ah-ra turned to her side to look at Yoona’s arms. She wished that she could just dig a hole and hide her face in the ground. So much for mistaking her for Jinyoung’s new ‘girlfriend’.

She shook her head and flashed a smile at her beautiful senior. No wonder Gongchan had feelings for her, she was a kind person actually.

“ So your name is Shin Ah-ra? I’ve always seen you with that Sandeul boy and Chan Shik.” Yoona remarked and grinned to make her feel at ease.

“ Yes. You can just call me Ah-ra. I don’t really have much friends…so the both of them are the only friends in school.” Ah-ra replied and cupped her chin.

“ I totally understand about how you feel. Me either. The only person that is my friend is my own cousin. The ice prince. Jung Jinyoung. I don’t get it why those girls don’t want to hang out with me. It’s like I’m a thorn in their eyes.” Yoona complained and folded her arms.

Ah-ra widened her eyes and turned to look at Yoona.

“ Finally! Someone that understands me! I’ve always avoided the girls in my class because they don’t seem to like me. I-“ Ah-ra was about to continue but Yoona stopped her.

“ Hush. I really understand you. We should totally hang out with each other. I always avoid having a girl as a friend because they can be a pain in the sometimes. Not only that, the drama and gossips. I can’t stand it.” She laughed.

Ah-ra beamed at those words and talked as much as she could. It was the first time she could open up to someone new. For the first time, she felt really attached to Yoona.

All of a sudden, Yoona started to giggle and ran out of the room.

“ Oh…Where is she going?” Ah-ra asked and pouted. She had wanted to spend more time with her...

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

Jinyoung tossed and the floor. Out of the blue, he shot straight up and messed his hair in frustration. He crawled to the door and fixed his ears on the door. He could hear the two girls giggling. Especially Yoona. He bit his lips and stood up. 

" Omo. Ah-ra...you're really good at this..." 

Jinyoung rolled his eyes and pouted. They were having fun without him.

" No...You should turn him into a monster. That'll be funny and I'll post it on my Cyworld for everybody to see..."

All of a sudden, he could hear Ah-ra laughing like a little girl. It was a laugh that he had never heard before. She sounded like she was trying to suppress her laughter. He couldn't take it anymore, he decided to check out on the girls. Like a spy, he made sure his body touched the walls and slowly advanced to his room where the two girls were. He peeked in at the slightly partly open door. 

Caught.

Jinyoung used his powerful eyes to spy on the both of them. Ah-ra was holding a marker in her hands. There she was like a little girl scribbling on something. They were both sitting on the bed laughing and pointing at a paper. He couldn’t see what it was but they both seemed to be having a lot of fun.

“ What are the both of you doing?” he cleared his throat and entered the room with a slightly raised neck.

Yoona panicked and sat on the paper. She gave a fishy smile to him and gestured to Ah-ra to smile. Ah-ra changed her attention to her hands, she was holding the marker. She quickly hid it behind her back and briefly grinned at Jinyoung.

“ That face…” Jinyoung thought as he observed the both of them. He squinted his eyes and went up to Yoona.

“ You. Why do you look so guilty?” he questioned her and widened his eyes. It was no use, his eyes were still small.

Ah-ra kept in her laughter and tried hard not to burst out laughing. She bit her cheeks and stashed the marker in between the sheets.

“ Nothing.” Yoona answered and grabbed the paper.

“ Give it to me.” Jinyoung somehow managed to snatch the paper away from her.

His eyes widened in shock.

“ Ah-ra, you drew this?” he said in amazement.

She nodded her head and braced herself for what was going to happen next.

The corner of his lips curled unwillingly. He fought hard at his swelling cheeks, but it was no use. He erupted in laughter and bent over to slap his knees. With the paper in his hands, he chuckled as if there was no tomorrow.

Yoona and Ah-ra looked at each other. “ Phew.”

Jinyoung controlled himself and wiped the tears away from his eyes.

“ Aigoo. This person is so ugly. It’s just so funny… I mean, why would you even deface a person with a marker?” he commented and passed the paper back to Yoona.

“ Jinyoung-ah. That’s you.” She responded.

His face immediately turned black.

“ So, the both of you were planning to defame me by uploading this online?” he raised his voice and grabbed both of their head.

The two girls struggled as he clashed both of their heads together.

“ Ah…” Ah-ra rubbed her head and groaned.

30 minutes later…

“ That’s not fair! Yah! Why do you keep on winning?” Yoona complained and kicked the sheets on the bed.

Jinyoung stuck out his tongue and placed a card on the bed.

“ I’m going to win this for Ah-ra. So… I’m going to end this game in 10 seconds.” He winked.

“ Fine.”

Ah-ra hugged the pillow to her chest and yawned. It was getting late but the two cousins seemed to be filled with energy. They were too engrossed in the game to even realize that she had already dozed off. Without warning, there was a loud thud.

“ What was that?!” Jinyoung and Yoona exclaimed at the same time.

Jinyoung immediately picked Ah-ra up and held her head in his right arm. Using the other free hand, he fixed the lamp back into position. She was so exhausted that she fell asleep and hit her head on the bedside table.

“ Looks like we should be getting some rest. I didn’t even realize it’s 1am already.” Yoona scratched her head and sneakily headed out of the room.

She ran out of the room and headed to the living room to get a bunch of keys. What she did next made Jinyoung fume.

He kept on kicking on the door to get her to unlock it. He plunged to the floor and glanced at Ah-ra who was already sleeping peacefully not to mention snoring.

“ At least…give me my favorite pillow and blanket. I need them to sleep on the floor…” Jinyoung shook his head at the thought of his mindless cousin.

He got back up and dragged himself to the bed. She was already occupying the whole bed. Her hands were sprawled apart and her long hair covered her face. Using the tip of his finger, he tried to push her away from him. He sat at the edge and studied her sleeping habits.

“ Messy. Badly behaved. Drool. Uh… not to mention mumbling to herself while sleeping.” He thought to himself.

He kicked her with his feet and snuggled into the covers. With his back facing her, he tried to close his eyes to go to sleep.

“ Yah. Are you sleeping?” he asked.

“ Eung…” he heard her groan.

“ So…why did you come here?” he questioned her out of boredom.

“ To find…” she covered her head with a pillow.

“ Find what?” he turned around and saw that she was sleeping.

She didn’t answer him.

" I'll be there for you no matter what. I promise. I'll patiently wait for you, so that it's fair to Lee Sandeul." he uttered those words.

His eyes focused on the hello-kitty ring that was on her finger. His heart sank and he was reminded of the incident earlier on where Sandeul kissed her on the forehead. He ended up cuddling himself on the floor. With his hands on his neck, he looked up and blinked his eyes repeatedly.

“ It hurts to just look at you. Those years where you longed only for me…I took them for granted. Can you recognize about how I feel towards you now? As much as it can’t be filled with the mere words of ‘I love you’. Loving each other and hating each other. Why are both of these things so difficult?” Jinyoung reasoned with himself and sat back up to look at her.

He painfully stared at her and stood up to tuck her in. He pinched her cheeks and squeezed her shoulders to give her a form of encouragement.

“ Goodnight. I’m going off now.” He softly spoke.

As he walked off, Ah-ra opened her eyes. She had heard everything.

" Goodnight..." she whispered to herself.

She could see his shadow that was reflected on his wardrobe as he walked to the balcony. All the words that she had wanted to tell him today, she wasn't able to do so. She hated herself for being such a coward. 

Jinyoung slid the door to the balcony open and jumped down. He landed softly on his feet and balanced himself.

“ Whoa.” He surprised himself by doing something so dangerous.

He made his way to Yoona’s room to reprimand her, but she too was already asleep. He pushed her forehead and pulled the blanket away from her. That didn’t stir her up from her sleep.

“ You deserve it. Now, sleep in the cold.” Jinyoung chided her and rolled his eyes at her.

“ But… I’m still thankful to you. I had been missing her like crazy… Thank you.” He whispered those words under his breath and headed to the study room to get a good night’s rest.

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

Sandeul’s home.

Baro yawned and covered his mouth. Sandeul was still not sleeping.

“ Yah, aren’t you going to sleep?” he complained and leaned his head on the couch.

“ You can sleep first. I’m still trying to complete this.” Sandeul mumbled and was focused on decorating the chocolates.

“ Fine. I’m sleeping. Night.”

Sandeul nodded his head and paid his full attention on making sure the chocolates were presentable. With all of his heart, he made the chocolates filled with his love. He puffed his cheeks whenever he made a mistake but after all, it’s the thoughts that count right?

An hour later…

“ This really looks good. I have to control myself.” Sandeul giggled and kept the chocolates in the fridge.

He dragged himself to his sleeping area and plunged onto the floor. He was dead tired. It was almost three am…

“ See you tomorrow. I’m so tired… I-I” before Sandeul could even finish his sentence, he was already dead to the world.

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

(A/N: Aigoo...how was this chapter? Haha... While writing this today... I'm going to emphasize this, I was the last person in the house to find out that Sandeul was sick. Like HE WENT FOR SURGERY. My mom was like telling me about Sandeul and I thought she was joking with me, because everyone always play tricks on me. So I was like 'Eh~거짓말 쟁이 (you're lying).' And my mom was like staring into a red article, which I knew was Allkpop... and I saw Sandeul's face. T.T I don't know...I think I freaked out and covered my face with a pillow. I just hope that Sandeul will be okay and his company will let him rest... I'm going to cry myself to sleep today. I don't even feel like listening to his voice today. Let's pray for a fast recovery for him.)