I can thank Joon? What the hell was going on? Was this some sort of set-up?

I looked at Mrs. Lee again and saw her mouthing words of apology. Knowing her, she couldn’t possibly have been involved in anything – it didn’t look like she had a choice but to stand back and watch.

“What’s going on, Joon?” I asked.

“Heh, well...You know me...” he muttered nervously. “...always saving your-”

“What? Saving my sorry ?” I interrupted. “That’s not funny anymore, Joon. Now tell me – what did you do?”

“Well, I couldn’t just let you run away from home,” he replied.

“I’m staying with Kikwang!” I snapped. “You know, your best friend?”

“I know, but-”

“You even looked shocked seeing my mom at the door, but now you suddenly seem calm after she started talking about you being part of this situation. So what am I supposed to believe? Are you suddenly on my mom’s side?” I said.

“It’s called acting, dear,” my mom interrupted. I shot a glare at my mom and quickly turned back to Joon.

“Hyosung, I don’t think you were thinking clearly in deciding to run away,” Joon said. “You need to look at how things will work out in the future.”

“Future? I never had a future to begin with! I don’t know if you noticed, but I don’t care about that stuff, and I never expected you to care either,” I retorted.

“Just hear me out, okay?” Joon said.

“...Fine,” I sighed.

“I know you’re feeling burdensome when you’re at home, okay? I totally get it. But you’re parents are just looking out for you, and I want to take care of you too, by making sure you don’t make any rash decisions. When you told me at the bar that you were going to run away, I just couldn’t stand back and let you do that, so I told your mom to come to Kikwang’s house to sort things out,” he explained.

“Are you done?” I scoffed, crossing my arms.

“I guess so,” he nodded. “Please just listen to your mom. You won’t regret it.”

“I don’t get you, Joon,” I hissed. “How does doing all of this make you a good friend?”

“Hyosung-ah, maybe you should talk to your mom about this for a bit,” Kikwang suggested. “I want to talk to Joon.”

“Ugh, fine,” I grunted. “I’m really sorry about this, Mr and Mrs. Lee.”

“We should be the ones to apologize, dear,” Mrs. Lee said, forming a small smile. “You and your mother are welcome to talk about it in the kitchen if you want.”

“Alright Hyosung, let’s go,” my mom said, walking towards the kitchen. I bowed at Kikwang’s parents and followed closely behind my mom.

“I don’t know what talking is going to do,” I sighed.

“Hyosung, we need to sort things out,” my mom replied. “Talking will be good for us.”

“What’s the point of talking when you never even care about what I have to say?!” I snapped. “It’s like whenever I give my opinion, everything goes in through one ear and out the other.”

“Let’s talk about you wanting to kill yourself...” she murmured in almost a whisper.

“Oh, so now we’re finally talking about this, huh?” I scoffed. “Finally you’re bringing it up, after you’ve been in denial for a few days already. This is just another thing you just wanted to take into your own hands. Sure, it’s okay to ignore me when I try to talk about it, but when you want to bring it up, it’s fine.”

“Hyosung, I’m trying here,” she replied. I knew I sounded like a total , but I was upset. Anyone would say that I was out of line, but I couldn’t help myself.

I could see that pleading look in my mom’s eyes – that same look that she would show me before the incident with Joon and his family occurred. It was the look I would always find annoyingly funny when she used it to try to convince me to go back to school or get a job, because I knew it would never work.

But this time it was different. She actually looked genuinely sad, and it didn’t seem as comical as usual. I didn’t want to seem like I was giving into it too quickly, so I crossed my arms and gave her a stern stare.

“Fine,” I nodded. “What do you want to know?”

“Why? Why do you want to kill yourself?” she asked.

“I know how this is going to go,” I replied. “Next, you’re going to ask me why I want to throw my whole life away at such a young age, when I have so much to offer to the world, right? I’ve heard this in so many dramas.”

“But it makes sense,” she said. “Why do you want to do that? You’ve always been so smart and witty.”

“I have my reasons,” I shrugged, looking away.

“Alright, then I won’t ask right now,” she nodded. “I don’t want to make things worse than they already are.”

“Then why are you taking me back home?” I snapped.

“That’s the other thing I wanted to talk to you about...” she mumbled. “You’re not exactly going home...”

“Don’t tell me that you’re sending me to military school or something,” I scoffed.

“No, no it’s not that,” she assured me. “But you’ll be living with Joon.”

“I’M WHAT?!” I yelled, standing up.

“Please, listen to what I have to say first,” she said, placing her hands on my shoulders. I shrugged them away and sat back down.

“This ought to be good,” I snorted.

“Joon paid us to-”

“Wait,” I interrupted. “Did Joon pay you, or did his parents pay you?”

“Joon did,” she replied. “He said that he knows how upset you feel with feeling pressured by your father and I, and offered to help.”

“And why can’t I stay at Kikwang’s house?” I asked.

“Well we can’t forget about the deal we made with Joon’s parents. This could be a huge milestone,” she replied.

“Does Joon know about what his parent’s are doing yet?” I asked.

“Surprisingly, he doesn’t know,” she said. “I think it’s because he sincerely likes you, that’s why he’s being so open about letting you live with them.”

“All of this information is confusing me,” I sighed. “So basically, Joon wants me to live with him, even though he is completely oblivious with what his parents planned?”

“Pretty much,” she nodded. “It’s quite strange though...I mean, he still has a girlfriend, right?”

“No, not anymore,” I replied, shaking my head. I saw my mom’s eyes widen, and her lips curve up. I glared at her, “Yah, don’t get all excited, because even if Joon does like me, I already love Kikwang.”

“You can’t love him, Hyosung!” she sighed. “It’s too early! And it wouldn’t work out.”

“Oh, here we go again with the censorship,” I grunted, rolling my eyes. “Who are you to tell me who I can and can’t love?”

“Look, can you please just give this a shot?” she asked. “This is all I’m going to ask of you right now. You might grow to like living in Joon’s house.”

“Alright...” I huffed.

“Oh, thank you!” she chirped, leaning over to hug me. I hugged her back half-heartedly and quickly withdrew from the hug. We walked back to where the others were standing and surprisingly, Kikwang didn’t seem so mad. I walked over to Kikwang who slid his arm around me.

“How was the talk?” he asked, kissing my forehead.

“Progressive,” I shrugged. “I’m surprised you aren’t blowing up or getting tense about all of this.”

“About what? You living with Joon?” he asked.

“Yeah – Wait, how did you know about that? I just found out about it a few minutes ago,” I said, raising my brow.

“Joon told me,” he replied calmly. I was taken aback – Kikwang seemed so calm about everything. I assumed he would have kicked Joon out of the house by now or something along those lines.

“...And you’re okay with it?” asked.

“Trust me,” he whispered, “Things are going to work out in the end. Just make sure to listen to Joon.”

“Uh...okay...” I said slowly. I looked at Kikwang’s parents and asked, “Is Kikwang okay?”

“Don’t worry about it, Hyosung,” Mrs. Lee smiled. Oh great. Was everyone going crazy?

“Shall we go?” Joon asked, holding out his hand.

“I guess so...” I muttered, still dumbfounded.

“Alright, well I’m going to go ahead,” my mom said. Before leaving, she looked at the two of us and said, “You two kids be careful. Take good care of her, Joon.”

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Jun,” Joon smiled. “I will make sure Hyosung stays safe and happy. You won’t even have to check up on her everyday – I will take good care of her.”

“That’s good to hear,” she replied. “I think a little bit of space is the best thing right now.”

After her car was out of sight, I followed Joon to his car and opened the door to the back seat.

“You can sit at the front, you know,” he said.

“I prefer it back here, thanks,” I muttered, sitting at the opposite end of the driver’s seat.

“Don’t be upset, Hyosung,” Joon sighed. “Didn’t Kikwang tell you to trust me?”

“I don’t know...” I shrugged, looking out the window. “Are you going to drive or what?”

Joon heaved out a long sigh and started the car. The complete silence made the car ride seem endless. I could see Joon trying to catch my attention through the car mirror time and again, but I kept my eyes focused on what was going on outside the window.

We finally arrived at Joon’s house. As Joon walked over to open the door for me, I slid over to the other end and opened the other door myself.

“So how long are you going to give me the silent treatment?” he asked.

“It was your fault for not speaking up,” I retorted. “How was I supposed to know that you constantly looking at me through the rear-view mirrors meant that I was supposed to say something?”

“Never mind then,” he sighed, opening the trunk of the car. After taking two bags of clothes, he closed the trunk and walked towards the front door.

“Yah, why aren’t we bringing the rest of my stuff inside?” I asked.

“Just follow me to the guest room,” he said as we walked inside. I looked around the house and was in awe.

“Woah...” I said, dropping my mouth. “How many guest rooms can you fit in here?”

“It’s big enough for five guest rooms, but we could only fit three because we needed room for the gym,” he replied.

“This place is huge,” I said.

“Yeah, well don’t get used to it,” he said, leading me inside my room.

“Why not?” I asked. “Aren’t I supposed to live here?”

“Yeah,” he nodded.

“Yeah...” I repeated, raising my brow. “What game are you playing?”

“You’re supposed to live here, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to,” he chuckled.

“Okay, I need to sit down. My head is starting to hurt,” I sighed, taking a seat on the bed.

“I haven’t told my parents that you’re staying here,” he said.

“Great. So I’m not even allowed here?” I snapped.

“Let me explain,” he said. “I haven’t told them that you’re staying here, because you’re not.”

“So your plan was to make me homeless?” I asked sarcastically. “Thanks bunches, Joon.”

“Yah, you don’t like letting people explain things to you, huh?” he chuckled. “These two bags of clothing are just in case your mom comes to check up on you, and for the few nights where you’ll sleep over.”

“And where am I supposed to stay for all those other days?” I asked.

“You’re staying at Kikwang’s house,” he grinned.

“I’m...what?” I asked, dropping my mouth.

“Do I need to spell it out for you?” he laughed. “You’re still living with Kikwang.”

“But, but, but,” I mumbled. “But you told my mom-”

“That you would be living with me? Yes, yes I did tell her that,” he nodded. “I told her that so that she wouldn’t be suspicious. Obviously she would trust the son of a friend of hers.”

“I don’t believe this...” I said, still shocked with what was going on.

“So here is how everything will work,” he said. “Since your parents have the day off on weekends, they’ll probably check up on you then, which is why you’ll stay here on weekends. But on weekdays, you’re going to stay at Kikwang’s house. If anything happens, or if you’re mom calls and tells me about a random visit, I’ll tell her you’ll be back from shopping in a few minutes and rush over to Kikwang’s house to pick you up. We’ll keep some of your clothes and other stuff here just in case.”

“Wow, you really are the son of sneaky businesspeople,” I chuckled.

“That’s right,” he said proudly. “And, once again, you can thank the wonderful Lee Joon for saving your sorry .”

I smiled brightly and pecked his cheek, “Thank you.”

Joon put his hand to his cheek and smiled. “Heh, you’re welcome.”

“Are you blushing?” I smirked.

“No!” he protested. “That’s just the mark from your lipstick.”

“I’m not wearing any lipstick, but good try,” I chuckled.

“So, shall we head back to Kikwang’s house? I’m pretty sure he’s missing you right now,” he replied. I nodded eagerly and followed him to the car again.

After taking all of my things out of the car, Joon gave me one last hug and walked back into his car.

“Hyosung-ah...” he called, rolling his window down.

“Yeah?” I asked. As I waited for his reply, I could see his eyes wandering, as if he was looking for the right words to say. My mom couldn’t have been right. He can’t possibly like me.

“I know you’re dating Kikwang, but...” His voice wandered off a bit.

“But?” I repeated.

“Um...make sure he doesn’t try to pull any weird moves on you,” he said, following it with an unstable chuckle. “He’s not as cool as me.”

“Alright, I will,” I smiled. “Goodnight.”

Joon shot me one last smile and drove off. I turned around and knocked on the door, anxiously waiting for Kikwang to answer the door.

He opened the door and smiled gallantly at me, “I told you not to worry.”

I wrapped my arms around him and whispered, “I finally feel at home.”

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BAM didn't see that coming, did you? ;) Okay, you probably did, but let's assume you didn't so that I can protect my pride xD

Loving all my readers~

- Liana