Yoonmei was brought home after being cleared at the hospital. She went straight to her room to leave the teddy bears then went to take a shower.

As cold water dropped above her head, thoughts of the earlier confrontation with Kai’s mother played all over again. She can’t understand why such a human being is so cruel and ruthless to her own son. How can she even say those spiteful words to him? How can she be so rotten from the roots?

But then, she grew more frustrated and mad at Kai who doesn’t learn to stand up for himself. Yes, she is his mother but at least try to reason and make her understand that what she’s doing is plain wrong.

“Urrrgghhh!!!” she hit her fist on the hard tiles. “You’re such a headache, Kim Jongin! Aish!”

Her mother just happened to pass by when she heard her muttering inaudible curses. “Mei?” she knocked on the door. “Something wrong?”

“Nothing mom!” Yoonmei yelled.

“Oh! Okay! I thought you’re arguing with someone in there!” she chuckled.

“Nah! I’m just having an intelligent conversation with myself!” the witty daughter replied.

Miyung shook her head and left.

After minutes of cooling her temper off, Yoonmei went to her room and changed. She slipped onto a comfortable pair of black leggings and an oversized shirt.

At that time, Luhan and Jaejoong stayed in the living room and watched a movie. They saw Yoonmei coming towards them, then jumped on the couch beside Luhan.

“Yah! That’s my shirt!” Jaejoong hissed after seeing her.

“So? Bleh~” she stuck her tongue out to him.

“Moommmm! Yoonmei stole my Rolling Stones tshirt again!” he shouted.

Then, a voice came from an unknown direction. “Aish! You kids! I think your sister just borrowed it!” their mother scolded. “MeiMei?! Make sure to return it to your oppa after, araseo?”

“Neeehhhh~” she sang.

She was supposed to lean her head on Luhan’s shoulder when he suddenly stood and saw him skipping towards her room.

When he came back, she saw him holding a fresh white towel and sat beside her. “You should dry your hair first…” then he took the liberty of patting her hair.

Jaejoong’s jaw dropped and he cringed. “Dude! You’re creeping me out!”

“You’re just jealous!” Yoonmei taunted and turned her back on Luhan to enjoy his service. “Xiexie, LuLu!”

“What do you mean, thank you? My services aren’t for free, you idiot!” he playfully pushed her head down.

“Mwoh???” she looked over her shoulder with a glare. “Forget it then!”

Luhan covered her face with the towel and made her turn. “I’m just kidding!” he snickered and continued.

That’s how the rest of their morning went. Yoonmei ended up having her head on Luhan’s thigh after drifting to sleep while the guys enjoy a movie marathon.

He only woke her up when lunch came and enjoyed the meal altogether.

She then decided to take a stroll at Luoyong’s garden. It was lush and full of blossoming flowers and healthy greens. ‘Hope grandpa can see this…’ she sighed.

A pair of hands suddenly sneaked up from behind and a chin resting on her shoulder. “Mei? I’m going out with Jaejoong gege for some errands. I’ll be back…”

“Okay…” she yawned. “I guess I’ll just sleep then!”

“Luhan! Let’s go!” Jaejoong yelled.

“Later Mei!” he winked while walking backwards.

“You guys be careful!” she told him and cupped . “Jae! Easy on the wheel, araseo?”

“Whatever you say, sis!” her brother said.

When she was once again all alone, she crouched on the cherry tomatoes and ran her finger on the ripened fruits. ‘Uwaaaa~ Grandpa must be proud of Kris. He’s really good at taking care of his babies!’ she beamed then  snapped her fingers. “Speaking of which…” she ran back in.

Yoonmei went to see her mom and found her baking in the kitchen. “Mom, do you have an idea where Kris lives?”

“I’m not sure hun, but you can ask our neighbors…”

She left in an instant. “Thanks… I’ll be back!”

“Okay… If you see him, tell him, I miss him!”

“Neehhhh!!!” she yelled.

Yoonmei slipped into a pair of flip flops and scoured the entire street. Luoyong once told her that he got Kris his own hanok and was also located somewhere near them.

After asking a neighbor, she went to the direction given to her. She found herself standing outside a wooden door almost identical to their main entrance and it was left ajar. ‘Huh? Why would he even leave it open? Aish! Baboyah…’

She poked her head in and as her eyes roamed, she couldn’t help but notice the clutter and pile of mess everywhere. It even started to smell musky as if molds started to grow. Her nose scrunched right away so she raised the neckline of her shirt and hid half of her face in it. “Ermmm… Hello?” she called while slowly tiptoeing on her way in. “Is anybody home?”

But it was silent, dead silent.

“Kris? It’s me, Yoonmei! Are you here?”

Still, no one answered.

Good thing it was a lot smaller than their place that when she came to the living room, the bedroom door stood just a few feet across her. The kitchen was also in sight and she can already see the sink overflowing with used plates and utensils while the table overflowed with empty ramen cups.

“Kris?” she continued to the bedroom.

Even when she knocked, she still heard no response.

Yoonmei forced herself to turn the knob and walked in. There were empty bottles of soju scattered on the floor and the dark curtains prevented any sunlight to come in.

left hanging when she found an unrecognizable figure lying in fetal position on a queen sized mattress. ‘Oh my God!’

Kris was shirtless and it showed how much he lost weight. Even his face sunk with cheekbones that could almost rip his face off.

He reminded her of her old self: lonely, almost dead, overwhelmed with sorrow, and living in complete darkness.

But Kris was a lot worse. He suffered in silence and all alone. He never spoke to anyone about it. He always put up a brave face. He never showed any emotion and kept it all in.

Yoonmei forgot about how dirty and smelly the whole place and just walked closer to him. She sat by his side and gently shook his arm. “Kris? It’s me… Yoonmei…”

That’s when his eyes slowly opened. “M-Mei?”

She nodded and smiled. “Neh! It’s me! What are you doing here all by yourself? We’re worried about you!”

He shut his eyes once again and shifted his back facing her. “Yeah right… Tch! Just… leave me alone!” he slurred.

“Are you drunk?” her eyebrows furrowed immediately.

“What do you care?” he then pressed a pillow on his head.

Yoonmei exactly know how he feels and she can’t let depression drain him completely. “Yah! WU FAN!!!” she stood on the mattress and kicked his thigh. “Two choices! Either your move your , or I will make you move your !”

He hurled the pillow somewhere and looked up to her with his usual face. “What the , Yoonmei? In which part of leave me alone don’t you understand, huh?”

Her jaw dropped, then she placed both hands on her hips. “Oh!!! So you’re getting mad at me now? Sorry! But my brain isn’t working in this kind of situation! So choose! Option 1? Or Option 2?”

Kris fumed even more and the alcohol seeping through his brain made him lose all sense in things. He fought through the dizziness to stand up and stared at her with burning and slitting eyes. “WHAT DO YOU ING WANT?”

She tilted her head with a raised eyebrow. “Simple! Get your to the bathroom and take a shower!”

“WAAEEEE???” he roared.

“SO YOU CAN COOL OFF AND ING USE YOUR BRAIN!” she retaliated. “I know you feel like and worthless! I’ve been there! I’ve done that! I know how it ing feels and I want you to stop right now!”

Kris curled his fists when thoughts of violence started to creep in. “What’s it in for you? Why do you care all of a sudden?” he smirked and spoke through his gritted teeth. “I don’t think you know how I feel! I don’t think you even know what you’re talking about!”

“Trust me! I know!” she sneered as they were in each other’s faces.

“Oh really?” his eyes narrowed. “Do you know how it feels like sitting in a room full of people that you love but you’re not even sure if they know that you love them?” his voice shook. “If they know whether or not you live or die? That to them, you’re just another person, just another stranger!” a single tear suddenly fell from his eye. “But to you… they are your best friends… the only people you have left!” his knees gave up and landed back on the mattress. “No one loves me… No one cares for me…”

Seeing a strong person like Kris break like that was just gut wrenching. It felt like a pair of hands squeezed her heart and struck needles in her lungs.

Never did Yoonmei realize how much Kris was suffering. It was a lot worse than physical pain. Worse than anything a human body can endure. He was shattered into pieces, completely damaged.

But one thing she knows for sure, he was wrong. She kneeled in front of him and lifted his soaking face. “You said it yourself, Kris. Grandpa Luoyong was like a real grandfather to you. Didn’t you think that he feels the same way?” then his eyes went to her. Yoonmei wiped his tears and smiled. “My mom wouldn’t let you call her eomeoni if you don’t deserve to be a son to her… We’ve always been here for you and it’s you who drifted away. You're the one who refused to talk to us! Not even to me!”

Kris swallowed the heavy build up in his throat and took a deep breath. “You wonder why I didn't talk to you?” she slowly nodded. He held their hands together and looked straight into her eyes. “It's not that I don't want to…” he shook his head. “It's just that… I can't tell you everything I want to say anymore.”

Her eyes turned curious. “W-What are you talking about?”

“Just let me ask you something...” she nodded once again.

Kris sniffled and wiped his tears, and after blowing out an air, he spoke again. “If I happen to walk out of this room right now and never come back and forget about everything…” she listened intently. “Would you be okay with that?” her eyes grew bigger. “I have 5 steps until I leave that door and you have 5 seconds to make up your mind...” he immediately staggered out of the mattress.

“Just… STOP!” she said in an instant.

Kris paused at the foot of the bed and never looked back. “Why?”

It was Yoonmei’s turn to close her eyes and speak her heart out. “I want you to stay… Just ing stay…”

Without saying a word, Kris went to take a shower.

Yoonmei held her raging chest and after calming herself down, she stood to open the curtains and clean the house.