The whole day, the three prepared the house nice and neat for their umma's return. Erica cleaned up the living room which was filled with Alex's toys. "Aish.." she grumbled under her breath. Jonghyun who was wiping the dining table, paused. "Are you okay?" he asked. She smiled and gave a thumbs up before continuing to pick up. Afterwards, she began making Omaraisu because Alex informed her that it was his umma's favorite home meal. Alex took the toys Erica had cleaned up to his room and "helped" get rid of [Eat] the junk food they had bought a while ago. Jonghyun ran Alex a bath before bringing him to the airport to meet her. Erica stayed behind and made sure everything was completely spotless. She quickly went into the guest room to put on something more impressive and non-showing of course. By the time they arrived, Erica was placing the last of the dishes on the table.

"Umma! Umma!" she heard Alex say from the door, "Erica noona is the best noona ever!" Erica giggled to herself before getting ready to meet her boss. "Annyeonghaseyo," she said politely bowing. The woman looked younger than she expected and she had the most expensive clothes Erica's ever seen. "Erica, neh?"  She nodded and scanned her once more. "I hope my sons didn't do any harm." Erica shook her head, "Not at all." Her mother sat down at the table while Erica helped Alex and Jonghyun seated himself. "Omaraisu? My favorite," she commented, looking over at Erica impressively. Erica smiled slightly before excusing herself from the table. She went into the kitchen and ate her small portion of food. 'She hasn't said anything mean, Erica. Maybe she isn't as bad as Jonghyun had described her.' Erica looked down to see her hands partly shaken. Was she nervous? Of course she was! She quickly ate and washed her plate before walking to her room.

"WETORIYA! WETORIYA!~" her ringtone rang. She quickly answered, hoping nobody heard a thing outside the room. "Yeboseyo?" she answered. "Erica-yah. When are you coming home? How do you turn on the heater? It's freezing!" Minho yelled at her. "Aish! What have you been doing living by yourself, neh? The boss is home tonight. I have to go" she whispered. "WAIT! Erica-yah! Help me" he whined. 'He's such a child..' Erica told him she would call him back as soon as she could before hanging up. Jonghyun entered the room. Erica looked at him nervously. "Jonghyun opp--" Jonghyun interrupted her with a hug. "Umma approves of you," he whispered happily. Erica smiled warmly into his chest. "But.." Erica let go of him, "but?" "But she's going to have to evaluate you before you go home," he scratched his head. Erica stared at him, frozen. "Erica-yah~" he shook her lightly. She stared at him. "Eva-eva-evaluation?" she choked. Jonghyun nodded. "Just do what you've been doing all this week, you know.. except for the staring at me part" he smirked. "YEAH RIGHT, JONGHYUN!" she shouted in a whisper. He chuckled and hugged her tightly until they fell over onto the floor. "You're lucky it's carpet" Erica said fiercely before resting her head in the crook of his neck.

They heard Alex's voice coming closer to the door and quickly got up. "Just act like you're making your bed! Hurry!" he whispered hotly. Erica quickly scrambled her blankets together to make it look messy. Jonghyun covered his mouth to prevent him from bursting out in laughter. Erica smirked, "Hurry! Do something!" The door swung open as Alex led his umma into the room. Erica was in the middle of making her bed  while Jonghyun was hiding in the closet. She hurriedly turned around and greeted her. "Are you comfortable in this room, Erica?" she asked. Erica nodded and smiled, "It's very homely, thank you." "That's good. After evaluation, you can go home to pack your other belongings and move in here tomorrow morning. And also, I need to give you your paycheck." Erica thanked her and walked out of the room with them. Jonghyun waited a few more minutes before silently walking out of the closet. He stared at the half-occupied desk. Erica's books and papers were there. He checked to make sure nobody was arriving soon and sat down on the chair. 'Homework? Who does that?' he smirked to himself. He searched several stacks of paper before finding a black notebook hiding underneath. "Property of Erica. Please return immediately." it read. 'Immediately? Must be something important.' He glanced at it a few more times while looking through her books, then finally decided to open it. It won't hurt,right? He flipped the pages until he saw his name.

Journal, It seems foolish to still be filling you out by now. I haven't written in you since the depressing days of middle school. What have I been up to lately? Well, there's only so much. Appa's in the hospital still. After Umma left, I've been keeping the house cleaner than possible only to make sure there's no more memories of her times there. Another thing is that Minho oppa's come home. I'm terrified but at the same time grateful to have my brother back. It's too hard for me at the moment to bond with him like before. He must be heart broken for his umma to have left him. Sometimes I feel like running away. But only because appa's bills are raised to the ceiling and I can't afford everything. So, I got myself a job! Yes, Journal, a job which I love. I get to take care of little kids who call me Noona~ kekeke~ Recently, I've been taking care of Alex. He's a sweet heart, I really believe he's my best customer! ^^ But I feel like I'm using a part of him to be closer to Jonghyun oppa. You see, since the first day I've started to like him. I'm pretty sure he might like me too. I'm scared though, Journal. Alex told me about his past. I'm sure that he didn't mean harm.. I'm just scared for his sake. His umma and appa are always away on trips, Alex says. I want to fulfill their wishes with the best of my abilities ^^ I will take care of them, I promise I will. I promised appa. Thank you for listening, Journal. Love -- Erica ♥

Jonghyun stared at the page and scanned it over and over again. Meanwhile, Erica was being watched while she got Alex prepared for bed. "Alex-ah, Jonghyun gave you a bath, neh?" she asked. "Neh! But noona, I want to have cookies!" he whined. For some reason, Alex was giving her more of a hard time tonight. Erica shook her head, "Noona's sorry, Alex-ah, but cookies are not good for you. I've told you before, neh?" "Neh.." Alex sighed. Erica smiled and ruffled his hair, "But don't worry, Alex-nah. You may reward yourself in the later days. For now, you must sleep" she said softly. She picked him up and squeezed him before walking into his room. Alex flipped the light on from behind her as she brought him to his bed. "Now Alex-ah, tomorrow is your big soccer game, neh? In order to be successful, you have to sleep good, neh?" He nodded and tucked himself in. "Noona, I'm not tired." Alex whined. Erica shook her head again, "Do you want to be a star, Alex-ah?" "Neh!" Alex said happily. "Well then get some rest. Tomorrow we'll have a good breakfast so you have full energy." She brought her face closer to his and placed her forehead on his. He cupped her face as she laughed. "Soccer game tomorrow, Alex-ah" she said for the last time. "Hwaiting!" they cheered as they looked into each other's eyes. Erica moved her forehead away from his face and kissed his head before leaving with his umma. They walked downstairs to see Jonghyun looking suspicious. "Bwoh? Why are you looking at me?" he pouted. "Nothing. Get to sleep, Jonghyun-ah" his mother said. As she turned her back, Jonghyun stared at Erica before mouthing the words, "Sweet dreams."

"Please sit down, Erica." Erica sat down across from her and watched her nervously as she took out her checkbook. "I think you are fit to be Alex's noona for as long as we need you for," she said, eyes on the checkbook. Erica nodded, a bit relieved. "So, Erica. How has your days here been so far?" she asked, now looking at her. "Great. Alex is very obedient. You are lucky," she smiled. "That's good. He told me that you are his favorite noona." "So I've heard," she said before she could analyze herself.  She the "dragon lady" chuckled before her next question. "Please tell me honestly, Erica noona. Have you and Jonghyun ever talked before?" Erica nodded. "Are you two friends?" "Mm.." Erica stopped to think. 'Oh no, what's this supposed to mean -___-' "Yes, we're friends." "Ah, I see." she paused for a minute before continuing. "Erica, has Jonghyun ever touched you?" Erica racked her brain of the possibilities to this answer. "No.." she lied. She watched as her boss nodded. "Last, tell me. Are you two together?" Erica was now terrified, does she know? What should she say? "No. Never." A smile formed on her face, "Thank you. Here's your paycheck. You may leave tonight." Erica walked quickly out the door before breathing out a big sigh. None of her customers were this strict. She started to walk down the driveway when Jonghyun's window opened. "Erica-yah!" he whispered loudly. Erica turned around, "Neh?" "You can't walk home! Are you crazy?" "Minho oppa can pick me up at the drug store nearby." She heard him heave a sigh before he took down the screen of his window. "Jonghyun oppa!" she shouted as quiet as possible. He climbed off the roof and over to her. "Jonghyun-ah! You're insane!" she hit him. "Bwoh?! I'm simply saving you!" "So you're going to walk with me?" she asked with a crooked eyebrow. He checked the pockets of jacket before realizing he left his car keys. He threw his head back, "Aish!" Erica giggled. "Well, go on. Go back to bed." She started to walk down the street before Jonghyun joined her side. "Yah, Jonghyun-ah. You're ridiculous. Your umma will suspect everything!" Jonghyun ignored her and only hoped that his umma would be asleep before he gets back. 

The two walked hand in hand down the road. A sudden breeze attacked them as the trees around them shook violently. "Aish.." Jonghyun mumbled before looking down at Erica. He stopped to take off his jacket when she refused. "Yah! Jonghyun-ah! Put your jacket back on! It's cold!" she scolded him. "Weh? You too! Your cheeks are rosie pink! Put this jacket on!" They argued for a few minutes before Jonghyun gave up. He started to put it back on when he grabbed Erica's waist and brought her close to him. She stumbled and lost her  balance. She saved herself by holding on to Jonghyun who smiled in victory. He then grabbed her arm and inserted it in the empty sleeve. "Yah, what are you doing.." he heard her mumble. He smiled and brought her closer. "This way we're both warm." Erica hid her smile as they walked on. When they arrived home, Minho surprised them at the door. "YAH! CLOSE THE DOOR!" he screamed at them. They noticed he had more than enough jackets on him. "Yah, oppa. You couldn't operate the heater?" Erica started to laugh. Minho grumbled something under his breath before Jonghyun released her. She walked over and the heater in less than a minute. She stood there smirking at Minho who was blushing. "Yah, whatever.. why is he here?" he pointed to Jonghyun. "He made sure I got home safe" Erica explained. "He drove you?" he asked. "We walked.." "Yah! Why didn't you call!" Minho scolded her. "My phone is at the house!" Erica lied. "Is he not man enough to have a car?" "Oppa!" Erica stopped him. "He snuck out to protect me! Stop being so protective! I've lived on my own for so long already." Her last sentence hit Minho hard. He felt guilty for leaving his family behind. "Well, he better get going.." Erica grabbed her keys from the hook and walked out with Jonghyun. "Sorry about him. Just ignore him. He's just.." her words trailed off. Jonghyun had kissed her quickly before walking towards her car quickly. Erica felt her cheeks burn. 'Was this our first kiss? Or was it our second?' she was confused. She hurriedly unlocked the car and started the engine. The whole car ride home was silent. Erica kept watch at the road while Jonghyun glanced over a few times. "We're here," she finally said. "See you tomorrow?" Jonghyun asked. Erica nodded. Jonghyun walked out and closed the door quietly before walking to the doorstep. Erica watched him as he struggled with the key lock. He came back with shame across his face. "I grabbed the wrong keys.." he groaned. "Babo~" Erica teased. She patted on the seat next to her as Jonghyun re-entered the car. "What will Minho oppa say about this?" she smirked amusingly as they drove back home.