Erica had slept through the night with discomfort. It was finally time to get to school, yet she was still tired. She got up to get ready, ate breakfast, then walked out without glancing over to her brother, sleeping on the couch. As she stepped onto campus, she was greeted by Minh. "Erica!" she called out, waving frantically. "What's up? You haven't called me back or anything," she noted. Erica avoided the question and tugged on her long sleeve, "Hey. Do you know what we're having for lunch?" "I think it's galbi and rice," Minh answered, "but don't dodge the question. What's going on? Are things okay?" "Yeah, of course! Alex is healthy, Minho's back home, things are fine." "And your dad?" she asked. Erica had suddenly stopped in her tracks. This whole time, she was selfish enough to not visit her own father. "Mm, I haven't seen him in a while" she breathed. Minh stared at her with shocked eyes, "You've always visited him during weekends." "I guess it's just work," Erica shrugged. She walked quickly into her homeroom and hoped that she'd be left alone.

Throughout the school day, Erica had avoided her friend and stayed at the library. Once the bell rang for school to be over, Erica dreaded going to pick up Alex. She loved him dearly, but it was his big brother she was worried about. She took the bus over and saw that Alex had made a new friend. She was adorable with a short haircut. "Noona!~" Alex waved with a big grin. The girl had looked over and waved as well. Erica smiled and walked over to the gate where she met the teacher to let Alex out. "Noona~ how come you didn't pick me up?" he asked as she took his hand to cross the street. "I had a test to make up," she lied. "It's okay. Did you see my new friend?" he asked anxiously. "Mhmm, she's cute" she replied with a slight smile, "What's her name?" "Haley!" he announced, smiling as wide as he could. "Do you like her?" she giggled. "What? Ani! No!" he said instantly, shaking his head. "She's got cooties!" he laughed. She laughed with him and talked about his day until they reached the house. "What would you like for dinner?" she asked as the approached the door. "Anything! Your cooking is the best, noona!" he smiled, clapping his hands together. "I-Is your brother home?" Erica asked suddenly, her voice almost as a whisper. Alex looked at her with a worried expression, "I don't think so.." She took a deep breath, then unlocked the door. Alex ran upstairs as she made her way into the kitchen. 

On the way, she noticed the room she had stayed in. The door was slightly open, so she thought it'd be okay to sneak a peek. She slid herself through and looked around. The room was ugly now that everything wasn't decorated like she had, but her journal still laid on the desk. As she flipped through pages, she noticed a few pages were soiled. Had she done this or was someone reading it? She then realized that Jonghyun must've opened it up to take a peak. She was angry yet saddened by this. When things felt like it was the best of times, it started to crumble down all together. She set the journal back down, then walked out, wiping away escaped tears. 

She was cooking food in the kitchen while Alex played with his toy truck. "Noona," he said, driving his truck up the counter, "I made a few goals last practice." "Really? That's great, Alex-ah!" she congratulated. "Yeah, and hyung came and everything! He saw it! So I was happy," he smiled. She gave him a weak smile, the resumed cooking. She watched the clock carefully. She separated the food onto plates, then handed one to Alex. "I'll get your fork, go out to the table, alright? I'm just going to wrap up your brother's plate." "Oh, hyung's not coming home tonight. I thought you were staying over," he replied. She nearly dropped her plate when she had recieved that slightest bit of news. "What do you mean he's not coming home?" she asked, astonished. "He went on an all day trip with his friend," he explained, "Umma said you were staying with me." "I didn't know.. nobody told me," she shook her head. "But you have to! I can't stay here by myself!" he said as we walked out to the dining room. 

As soon as he left, Erica slammed her hand onto the counter. This was all a set up! He knew I'd be here when he gets back home, she thought. She paced around for a while, then ran to the phone. She rang Alex's umma and waited for her to pick up. "Yeboseyo?" "Annyeonghaseyo. This is Erica. Because Jonghyun wont be home tonight, will it be okay if I take Alex home with me? I've got early class tomorrow," she lied. "Mm.. I'll let this slide for now, but it will never happen again." "Kamsahamnida!" she thanked her before the line ended.

Feeling accomplished, she walked over with her plate of food and joined Alex. "Thank you for this meal," Alex said, bowing before digging in. If he wants to play, we're playing the hard way, she thought as she took a bite of her dinner.