Hoya propped up his arm and rested his head on his hand while he spun a pen back and forth with the other hand. The room was silent and Hoya gazed out into the night sky absentmindedly, thinking about the dance with Aekyung back at the club. A shaky sigh escaped his lips and his pen dropped onto the floor with a soft thud. He snapped out of his thoughts and bent down to retrieve it. A knock on the door was heard.

“Come in.”

His own personal butler, Jaejun stepped into the room and bowed. “Sorry to disturb, Hoya-ssi. Mr. Lee had asked me to inform you that dinner is ready. Hojun-ssi will be down shortly.”

Hoya waved him off and pressed a finger to the side of his head. “Noted. You may go back down, Jae.” Jaejun bowed once again and left the room, closing the door with a click. Hoya looked at himself in the mirror and touched his chin, still deep in thought. *Should I confess to Aekyung again? What if she doesn’t like me anymore and she’s just being friendly? Should I trust her again?*

“Howon!” He heard his mum shout and he made his way to the dining table immediately. Hoya knew his mum wasn’t a patient woman and if she called, he had to be there immediately. He bowed and apologized to everyone at the table. “It’s alright. Come take a seat.” Hojun rolled his eyes and picked up his chopsticks, only to be slapped by Mrs. Lee. “Lee Hojun. How disrespectful of you!”

“Hyung didn’t come down in time for dinner and he isn’t disrespectful? All I did was to pick up my chopsticks and I'm already deemed disrespectful?!” Hojun sneered. Mr. Lee slammed his palm on the table, giving Hojun a firm look and he quietened down. Hoya looked at the tense atmosphere and cleared his throat.

“Hojun’s right. I was disrespectful. Sorry. Let’s just continue with dinner, eh?” Hoya sat down beside Hojun but Hojun shifted further away from Hoya, along with his utensils on the table. “Dad, Mum, do eat.” Hoya said politely.

“Dad, Mum, eat.” Hojun repeatedly restlessly and picked up his chopsticks. He wanted to finish this dinner and get back to his room as soon as possible. Hoya reached out for a drumstick and so did Hojun. They looked at each other for a moment and Hoya smiled.

“You can have it, Jun.” Hoya offered. Hojun took back his hand and ignored his brother, while he took another piece of chicken instead. Hoya took in a deep breath. *Don’t get mad. He’s your brother after all.* He took the drumstick and ate silently. Mrs. Lee was about to eat a spoonful of rice when she was reminded of something.

“Hojun-ah! Heard you found a girlfriend~” Mrs. Lee teased. Mr. Lee and Hoya perked up upon hearing the news. Hojun blushed and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Y-Yes I did. She’s really beautiful.”

“Bring her home for dinner then!” Mr. Lee suggested. Hojun glanced at Hoya and shook his head. *Bring her home and let Hyung snatch her away from me? No thanks.*

“Maybe next time. It’s a little too fast anyway.” Hojun said. The two elders nodded and didn’t probe any further. Hoya bit his lip. *Is it because of me?*

“Jun, you should bring her over tomorrow. I’ll be out so you don’t have to worry.” Hojun glared at Hoya menacingly and scoffed.

“So you think it’s about you huh? You think everything is about you!” Hojun slammed his chopsticks on the table. Mrs. Lee looked at her younger son in shock and Mr. Lee kept quiet. He knew his sons too well to into this. “I’m full.” Hojun stood up and walked back into his room, not before muttering, “Egoistic bastard” that was loud enough only for Hoya to hear.

“It’ll get better soon, son. He’ll realize how good of a brother you are.” Mr. Lee placed his hand on Hoya’s and gave him a warm smile. Hoya nodded and continued to eat silently. *Everything I do, Jun’s my first priority. Why does he detest me so much?* Hojun heard Mr. Lee from the top of the stairs and huffed.

“To you guys, he’ll always be the best. I’m always the second. Why did you bother giving birth to me if you aren’t going to care about me?” Hojun muttered under his breath and slammed his door, loud enough for everyone in the dining table to hear. Hoya clenched his fists and Mr. Lee patted his shoulder to comfort him. Mrs. Lee looked at her son worriedly.

“My appetite is gone. Dad, mum, have a good dinner. Don’t let us affect you, yes?” Hoya smiled at the two and went back to his room, ignoring their calls. *I really need to have a good talk with Jun. I was hoping he would bring his girlfriend along and I would bring…* Hoya widened his eyes. *I almost thought about Aekyung. , this is too quick. I shouldn’t jump into a relationship with her again so quickly.* He rubbed his temples for the second time that night.

"I should just go to bed early and stop thinking about Jun or Ae." Hoya sighed.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

“Seulmi-ah...” Aekyung whined while rolling around on her bed. Seulmi scrolled through the web restlessly and grunted at Aekyung in response. Aekyung looked at her best friend and threw a plushie at her. “Yah! I asked you here to help me, not use my laptop!” She complained.

“Your problem is not even a problem!” Seulmi exclaimed and threw the plushie back at Aekyung. She caught it and hugged it tightly, resting her head on the plushie.

“It is! I’m afraid Howon won’t accept me because of what I did to him in the past...” Aekyung pouted. Seulmi shook her head at her best friend. *These two idiots are so hopelessly attracted to each other but why won’t they admit it?!* She ignored Aekyung and clicked on a website. *Hey, this is it! Aekyung can try this out so she’ll finally shut up on how Howon doesn’t love her anymore.*

“Ae, come over and look at this.” Seulmi beckoned Aekyung over to her side. Aekyung raised a brow and crawled towards her friend, looking at her with a ‘what-is-so-important-that-I-have-to-crawl-over’ look. Seulmi laughed and turned the laptop so that it was facing Aekyung. “This. Try this out on Howon.”

Aekyung squinted her eyes and read the title. “10 Signs A Man Is Interested In You..” She mumbled. “Wait, what?! You’re saying I should try this out on Howon?!” She gaped at Seulmi. Seulmi nodded happily. Aekyung slumped her shoulders. “I’m too obvious. I can’t lie around Howon! He’ll find out that I’m testing him.”

“Who says you have to lie? You just have to observe his body language or whatnot.” Seulmi retorted. “Just try alright? I didn’t skip a date with Myungsoo just for you to reject my idea. Plus, if it works, you can confess on your birthday next week.” She winked at Aekyung and she reluctantly nodded.

*I certainly hope you’re right about this, Seulmi…* Aekyung copied the website on her phone so that she can look at it the next time she sees Hoya. Seulmi snapped her fingers, interrupting Aekyung’s thoughts. “Ae, I just remembered something that I have to do. You look at the website properly, alright? I have to leave now.” Aekyung nodded, preoccupied with the site’s content.

“Take care, Seulmi! Bye!” Aekyung waved at her closet, with her eyes still on the laptop screen. Seulmi chuckled. *You’re not even waving at me, Ae. Is Hoya that important to you now?* She bade Aekyung goodbye and left the house. *Now, it’s time to plan Aekyung’s surprise party!!* Seulmi mentally squealed and dialed Myungsoo’s number.

“Oppa, can you call Howon over? I want to plan Ae’s birthday party. It’s in 5 days and yet I’ve prepared nothing.” Seulmi sighed. Myungsoo laughed and answered with a simple ‘OK’ before ending the call. Seulmi kept her phone. *Must give her the best party ever! After everything she’s done for me… Especially that scar.* A pang of guilt hit Seulmi. *If it wasn’t for me, Aekyung’s self-esteem wouldn’t be so low. I’ll make sure Hoya confesses to her on her birthday first.* Seulmi did a fist pump immediately and headed home.

The moment Seulmi opened the door, she was welcomed by a warm hug from Myungsoo. “Welcome back babe. I missed you.” Myungsoo pecked her forehead lightly and Seulmi giggled. *I never thought Myungsoo will be such a skin ship monster.* Hoya cleared his throat loudly and stared at the two of them.

“If I’m not wrong, Myungsoo called me over to discuss about Ae’s party, not look at you two being all lovey-dovey.” Hoya pointed out. Myungsoo stuck his tongue out at Hoya and muttered something about being jealous. Seulmi and Myungsoo headed over to the couch and sat down, with Hoya across them. He placed his hands together and started, “So, I already have some plans for Ae.”

Seulmi looked at him in surprise. “Really? Share with us!”

“Well, my plans only include the both of us. But before that, we could have a party at your house and you know, invite Infinite over for a sleepover maybe? I’ll bring Ae out at night though. She’s booked by me okay?” Hoya narrowed his eyes at Seulmi, warning her not to try anything funny so that he’ll get his time with Aekyung. *Well, Ae would be more than happy to know that Hoya had made plans for only the both of them.* Seulmi thought happily.

“Did I even say that you can hold the party at my house?” Myungsoo asked with a straight face. Seulmi looked at her husband's small smile and knew he was trying to tease Hoya. She decided to play along and furrowed her eyebrows to look like she was irritated.

“Yeah. How could you just decide without our permission?” Seulmi added and Myungsoo nudged her feet slightly. *We have chemistry.* Myungsoo thought but managed to not smile. Hoya’s smile faltered and Myungsoo mentally cheered. *You’re still the gullible Lee Howon.* He stood up and pouted.

“Well, I can’t have it at my house as much as I want to. Jun doesn’t like it. So please, Mr. and Mrs. Kim, can I hold Ae’s birthday party at your house?” Hoya begged, his eyes almost watery. Myungsoo couldn’t hold back a chuckle and it escaped his mouth, confusing Hoya. “Don’t play with me! You’ll let me have Ae’s party here right? Right?” Hoya probed earnestly, hoping the married couple would allow him to.

“Of course you can, Howon! We’re just fooling around with you.” Seulmi confessed. Hoya heaved a sigh of relief and smiled to himself. She elbowed her husband. “You’re getting more and more playful, oppa.” Seulmi grinned at him and Myungsoo pinched her nose lightly.

“You bring my playful nature out.” Myungsoo said, pushing the blame to Seulmi and she pouted.

Hoya rolled his eyes and ignored the lovey-dovey couple. *Now, time for my plan!* Hoya thought excitedly. *Just you wait, Jung Aekyung. I think I’m ready.*