"What?"

"Where were you when my sister died? Were you even at her funeral?"

Kai's face faltered for a second but he covered it up with a grim look in a split second.

"I left town...." he stared up front with distant eyes. "I was in Busan.....with my mom."

Se Ri's mind hit replay all of a sudden and brought her back to her conversation with Baekhyun earlier today.

"I don't know if I should be saying this but...he had a really bad past. He..he was an illegitimate child and was thrown into slavery by his mom in the household. If he refute against her, she would beat him up badly."

*Was it because of his mom that he wasn't able to see Saejin for the last time?*

"May I ask why?" Se Ri asked, her voice softened.
Kai turned his head towards her. His eyes were sad. "We had an argument. I saw her with some other guy..." he trailed.

*Baekhyun* she thought.

"I like her a lot and I could tell, she feels the same way. She's really a nice girl. But.....she has a boyfriend."

"They got into a fight when Jongin found out that we kissed. I mean, it was my fault. I really liked her a lot and I couldn't keep it in myself anymore. So everything just....happened."

Se Ri's head began to spin as she recalled the content of conversation with Baekhyun.

"...I-I didn't know she died....until that night, I got a call from one of our classmate. He said, she was murdered. When I returned, I made it a habit to visit her grave frequently." he finished as he tried to stop his hands from trembling.

"All this while...were you the one who brought her those lilies?" she asked.

He nodded.

*So unnie cheated on him? Is that why he went away?*

There were 1001 questions in her head but seeing Kai at this state, so vulnerable and broken, she decided against it. She didn't want to prod further. If one doesn't want to tell, then let it go.

Se Ri felt sympathetic for Kai. She gazed at him with loving eyes. Slowly, she reached out, grabbed Kai's trembling hands and gave it an assuring squeeze. She gave him a bright smile that she could afford.

"Kai..no matter what happens, I'll always be with you. You know that don't you? I'll always be here waiting for you if you need a shoulder to lean on. So don't keep things to yourself anymore. It pains me to be so useless. I want to do something for you. I'll promise you that I'll stay with you during tough times as long as you do the same thing and not push me away." she said genuinely.

A tear rolled down his cheek. Se Ri wiped them off with her hands. Before she could rest her hands by her side, Kai grabbed them. In an instant, she was in his embrace. Kai squeezed his eyes shut, letting go of those tears he had kept. Se Ri's heart hurt. One, because she had never seen Kai - heck, she had never seen a guy in a state like this and two, Kai failed to let go of his past when they were dating all this while. But Se Ri understood every little thing that was happening. She never knew that she was able to withstand this situation.

"Thank you, Se Ri." Kai said, choking on his sobs.
Se Ri the back of Kai's head in a comforting way. She felt as though she was embracing an eight-year old kid. When Kai seemed to have calmed down, she pulled back with a painful smile which only she could tell.

"Let's go home." she said.

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

Chanyeol trudged into Se Ri's home to find her cuddled up under her blanket the next morning. He was so worried about her when he got a text from her, saying that she was feeling unwell. Se Ri felt a weight on her side of the bed. She shifted her position to find Chanyeol looking down at her wearing a concern look. Sighing, she removed the blanket off of her and sat up.

"You should rest more." Chanyeol said as he placed his right palm on her forehead. His eyebrows came together. "You're not having fever. You said you were not feeling well."

"I am." she stated as she rested her back by the headboard.
When Chanyeol's face grew even more confused, she continued.

"In here." she pointed to her chest.
He shifted closer to her, waiting for her to explain everything. And she did. His eyes grew wider at every detail she included. From meeting Baekhyun at the bus stop till the part where Kai finally revealed everything. She didn't leave anything out. It took a few seconds for everything to finally sink in for him. He let out his breath which he never knew he was holding.

"Woah. This is....this is totally uncalled for." Chanyeol scratched his head with his glasses almost sliding off his nose bridge. He quickly pushed it up before it could slide further. He took a quick glance at Se Ri who was playing with her fingers. "How are you taking it?" he asked but Se Ri just shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know Yeol. I don't know if I should be happy or sad. But what I do know is that, I'm helping him get over Saejin unnie. It's unhealthy to keep living in the past, you know." she replied, but her voice had a pinch of uncertainty. She raked her hair with her fingers and sigh.

Chanyeol was quiet. "What about noona's murderer? What do we do now?" he finally asked.
Se Ri looked up at him. Clearly, she hadn't even thought about that for the past few weeks. "I-I don't know. I haven't really thought about it."

Chanyeol sighed. Both of them sat there in silence for a while.

"Se Ri..." he called. She turned her gaze to him. Chanyeol reached out and brushed her hair out of her face. He sighed again and dropped his hands.
"What's wrong Yeol?" she asked. When he didn't answer, she nudged him. He swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat. Se Ri could tell he had something in his mind.

When she knew he wasn't going to reveal anytime soon, she got out of bed. Chanyeol snapped out from reverie and look at her. "Where are you going?"

She pointed to the bathroom. When the bathroom door was shut, Chanyeol let out a groan. He lay sprawled on her bed and thrashed around.

"How am I suppose to break this to you, Se Ri? Urghhhh." he whispered to himself.

"What are you doing on my bed?" Se Ri asked as she stepped out of the bathroom, tying her hair up in a bun. Her face was fresh, other than that she was still in her PJs.

Chanyeol raised an eyebrow. "Did you even shower?" he answered her question with a question.
Se Ri flicked her wrist nonchalantly and walked to the door. "Later. I'm going to make breakfast. Have you eaten?"
Chanyeol pinched his nose and contorted face. "Tell me how you have a boyfriend. It's a miracle, I tell you. MIRACLE." His voice came out nasally.

"On second thought, you can starve for all I care." she walked out of the room.

"Hey! I haven't eaten this morning! I left home in a rush because you told me you were sick! LOOK HOW GOOD OF A FRIEND I AM?!"

She could hear Chanyeol yelling from her room and she chuckled to herself.
*Yeol, what am I supposed to do with you?*

Chanyeol jogged to the kitchen. "So what are we having for breakfast?" He took a seat on the high stool.

"American breakfast for me, nothing for you." she nodded her head without looking at him. She busied herself, taking out a pan from the kitchen cabinet and gathered all the ingredients needed for breakfast.

"Mean." he clucked his tongue and rolled his eyes. Se Ri chuckled and shook her head. "You're such a kid."

He did a peace sign by his eyes.

"So how did Ahjusshi's birthday party go yesterday?" she asked as she poured orange juice into a glass and slide it towards him.
"It was normal. The rest of the family was there. So we had a little reunion." he answered, sipping juice form his glass. Se Ri envied Chanyeol for having people to call family. She wished her parents were still alive and they would be living under one roof, happily spending their time togther as a family. But now, she's living her life alone. No parents and no siblings. She only had Chanyeol and his family in her life and now, Kai was part of it.

"But dad was really disspapointed when you didn't show up." he pointed at her.
She felt bad for ditching the party but her emotions got the best of her the day before.

"But he totally understood when I told him that it was Saejin noona's 100th day." he smiled.
"I'll pay him a visit today. I've got nothing planned today anyway." she said.
"What about Kai?" he asked, pushing the glass back at her for refill.
Se Ri took the glass and refill it for him. She emptied the juice carton and threw it away. "He's working full-day today. His co-worker is sick."
"Okay. We'll leave at noon."

After their hearty breakfast, Se Ri went up to get ready. In 15 minutes, she stepped out of her room dressed in a long black skirt and a white raglan. Chanyeol was munching on a cookie while flipping throught the TV channels.

"Ready?" She grabbed her sling bag and took out her sneakers from the shoe rack. Chanyeol turn off the TV set and pranced towards her.
"Stop prancing around, it doesn't suit you." she said as she tied her laces together.
"Tch." He clucked his tongue.

They left after Se Ri locked the front door.

--------

An hour later, they arrived at Chanyeol's parents' home.

"Se Ri!" Mrs Park lunged towards her the moment the door open, embracing her in a tight hug. "It's been forever since I last saw you."
"How are you Ahjumoni?" Se Ri returned her hug with a sad smile. Her bottom lips trembled, threatening to cry. Mrs Park pulled back and noticed the tears in her eyes. She quickly envelope her in another hug and her hair. "Aigooo...my child..stop crying. If you do, I'll cry too."
"Ahjumoni....." she croaked.

Mrs Park is in her late 40s. Her black hair was neatly bunned up with some of the strands escaping at the sides. Small wrinkles were obvious under her dark brown eyes but still, she looked fantastic. Her voice was what Se Ri missed the most. Her voice was oddly like velvet, so soft and wise and the smallest bit rough. It comforted her every single time she heard it.

Chanyeol felt like he was going to cry too. When Mrs Park noticed him standing there in an awkward position, he urged him to go in. He rubbed the back of his neck and hurried into the house.

"Come dear, let's go in. Mr Park will be really happy to see you." Mrs Park lead her inside.

Se Ri looked around. It hadn't changed much ever since she'd been here. It's been 3 years. She walked over to the living room and saw that her pictures with Chanyeol and Saejin when they were still kids were still hanging on the wall at it's original spot. She reminisced the time when the three of them were playing outside at the Mrs Park's garden. They would have a tent ready and a telescope to stargaze every weekend. She felt a pang of nostalgia. Subconsciously, she reached out and her sister's face on the picture.

"I could never take that down." Mrs Park said from behind. Se Ri whipped around. Mrs Park had returned with a cup of hot chocolate for her and sat it down on the coffee table. She ushered for Se Ri to take a seat beside her. "Come here dear."

Warily, she sat down and played with her fingers. "Why not?"
Mrs Park look at her with gentle eyes. She grabbed Se Ri's hands and squeezed it. "I want to be reminded of you and your sister every single day."
Se Ri look up to face her. Mrs Park's eyes were red.
"Both of you are like my daughters that I never had and you practically grew up here alongside Chanyeol. It's unfortunate that your sister had passed on. I didn't believe it when Chanyeol told me at first. I cried almost every night clutching onto your sister's picture. It was really unexpected." She wiped her wet cheeks and chuckled lightly.
"Aigoo. What am I doing? I shouldn't be like this when you are here in front of me." She shook her head with a weak smile.
"Ahjumoni....I miss you a lot." Se Ri hugged the frail looking woman who had practically raised her up.
"Me too, my dear." She shut her eyes and both of them stayed that way until someone cleared thier throat.

Se Ri turned back and saw a fatherly figure on a wheelchair with a blanket enveloping his lower body, being pushed carefully by her best friend from behind.
"My dear Lee Se Ri. You've grown up well." Mr Park said, smiling brightly. Guess that's where Chanyeol got that smile from.

Se Ri stood up and walked towards Mr Park. She glanced at Chanyeol who was urging her to continue. She bowed to him and slowly crouched down in front of him. "Ahjusshi..Happy belated birthday. It's been quite sometime, isn't it?" she smiled up to him.
Mr Park, on the other hand, is in his mid 50s. His dark hair was receding a little and the wrinkles on his forehead were obvious. His jaw was still as sharp and his facial features were still the same, still giving off the fatherly vibe. He was involved in an accident 8 years ago while he was on his way to work. He was knocked down by a car while crossing the road and was confirmed paralysed by the doctors when he was treated in the hospital. The whole household was devastated by the news especially Se Ri as she was the closest one to him. From then on, he was forced to quit his job and became wheelchair-ridden.

Mr Park patted her head and nodded. "Thank you my dear. How are you?"
"I'm like this Ahjusshi, moving on and catching up with life." she answered simply.
"We heard about your sister. It's really unfortunate. I wanted to go visit her badly, but as you can see, my condition right now...." he sighed.
Se Ri shook her head with a smile. "It's alright Ahjusshi, I understand and Saejin unnie will definitely understand."
"Are you okay, living by yourself?" Mr Park asked her, concerned.
"Yes, I'm fine. Really. Yeol stays over a lot and I really appreciate him for doing that." she replied.

Mr Park turned his head back to face Chanyeol who gave a secretive shake of his head when Se Ri wasn't looking. He sighed again and turned his head back to face Se Ri who was smoothing the blanket over Mr Park's legs.

"Se Ri, move in with us." Mr Park said.
"No, no it's okay Ahjusshi. I wouldn't want to impose on you or Ahjumoni. With you letting Yeol stay over is enough for me." she replied, waving her hands.
"You're not imposing on us my dear." Mrs Park said as she walk over to Se Ri and pulled her to stand up. She fixed Se Ri's hair lovingly. "We don't want you to be alone when Chanyeol's not around anymore." she said, oblivious to Chanyeol's nervous breathing.

Se Ri was beyond confused now. "What do you mean, when....when Yeol's not around.....anymore?" she asked as her eyes darted from Mrs Park to Mr Park and finally Chanyeol. Mrs Park seemed to notice her confusion and turned to Chanyeol. "You haven't told her?"

Chanyeol looked like a nervous wreck. He didn't know that this was coming. The time had come to tell Se Ri the truth.

"Tell me what?" Se Ri asked, beginning to feel impatient.

Mr Park wheeled away and signalled his wife to follow him, giving the younger ones some privacy to talk things out. When they were out of sight, Se Ri repeated her question again. "Tell me what, Yeol?"

"I-I'm....God....How am I suppose to say this....." Chanyeol ruffled his hair. Feeling annoyed, Se Ri shook his arms.
"Tell me, Yeol. You're making me scared."
With a little courage in him, he had to reveal it to her once and for all.

"I'm moving to America end of this month."