In the morning, Erica woke up to the sound of sizzling on the stove. ‘Alex?’ Erica jumped to her feet, and sprinted downstairs to the kitchen. There, she met eyes with Jonghyun. “Morning,” he smiled as he flipped another hot cake. Jonghyun wasn’t so bad looking when he was sober. “Do you like pancakes?” he asked. Erica hesitated, and then nodded. “Great, I cooked just enough for two.” Jonghyun set two plates onto the kitchen counter and placed three hot cakes on both, adding the perfect amount of syrup and then sprinkling sugared-powder on top. “Strawberries or blueberries?” he asked. “Both,” Erica answered without hesitating. She felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment. “Good, I like a girl with a big appetite.” He continued to look through the fridge. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?  Before she knew it, Jonghyun had pulled up a chair for her before seating himself beside her. “Dig in~” He smiled, forking a stack of pancakes. Erica thanked him nervously before taking a bite. She closed her eyes as the fluffiness melted into . “You like?” Jonghyun noticed. Erica quickly opened her eyes, “Yeah. It’s delicious! How’d you learn to cook like that?” “I watch cooking shows from time to time, you know..because I need to feed Alex.” Erica’s heart sank. “Well, for dinner you can help me cook spaghetti” she suggested. Jonghyun flashed a brilliantly beautiful smile before continuing his breakfast. Erica was too dazed to notice that Alex had gotten up. “Noona,” he said groggily, pulling on the rim of her shirt. She snapped out her trance and helped Alex up, onto her lap. “Are you hungry?” she asked him, giving him a big warm morning hug. He nodded as he rubbed his eyes. Erica forked a piece of pancake and gave it to Alex. “Hey, Alex” Jonghyun greeted. “What do you think of our new noona?” he asked. “She’s alright,” Alex answered. Erica giggled. “I think she’s terrific” Jonghyun said. ‘Did I hear that correctly?’ Erica thought, ‘What is he doing?’ She couldn’t help but smile back sheepishly before feeding Alex another piece of pancake.

                Their day began with a stroll in the park. “Alex, let Erica noona rest” Jonghyun told him, noticing Erica walking slower than before. “Bwah, why?” he whined. “No, it’s okay. Noona can do it,” Erica reassured him. Alex’s smile brightened as Erica carried him behind her back. Jonghyun had enough. He grabbed Alex and placed him up top his shoulders. “Alex-ah. You need to be nice to Erica noona,” he said, winking at her. Erica froze for a second, thoughts rushing into her brain. ‘What was that all about? Does he like me?’ They continued on, before approaching the swings. Alex complained about not being tall enough and decided to play in the sand with the other children. Erica sat on the swing and started to push herself. "So.. Erica noona, huh?" Jonghyun smirked. "Ha-ha, it's a job I need to keep" she replied, "If not, I can't pay for father's hospital bills..." Her heart sank lower than it was. She looked down, avoiding Jonghyun from seeing any tears that might end up falling. Jonghyun shuffled over, kneeling in front of her. "Aw, don't cry" he said in a soft tone. He lifted her chin up and stared into his eyes. Boy, was his eyes b e a u t i f u l. He flashed a warm smile, "I will do anything to help you with your father." The corners of Erica's mouth curved into a smile. "Thanks," she sniffed. Jonghyun got up and sat on the swing beside her. "I'm guessing Alex is already close to you," he said as he pushed himself off the ground. "Really? You think so?" Erica asked, starting to realize Alex's clingy-ness towards her. "It seems like you've won his heart faster than all the other noonas that have taken care of him." Erica couldn't help but smile. It felt good to be a noona to Alex, especially because he was such a cutie pie. "Welcome to the family," Jonghyun smiled, gazing over at her. Erica's cheeks flushed when she made eye contact. She looked away quickly and tried to hide a smile. She obviously failed when she heard Jonghyun chuckling beside her. Welcome to the family.