Unfortunately, Kyuhyun is only a small fraction of all people on earth and while he has accepted Sooyeon wholeheartedly, the whole world might be another story – not to thread any further, the whole country is another story. It probably doesn’t even have to do with her relationship with Miyoung but just the fact that that’s just how she is.

Mrs. Jung banned her from going to school, forcing her to take a time off no matter how Sooyeon argues that she might repeat the year if she misses too much and she wants to graduate with everybody, with Miyoung.

“I can’t not go to school, eomma!”

“I’ll call the principal.”

“This is my last year, eomma! I’m graduating this year!”

“Yes, you are – probably in another school.”

Sooyeon stops and stares at her mother. “What – What are you saying, eomma?”

“It’s not too late to change schools. And with your credentials, I’m sure it won’t be a problem to any school you choose to transfer to,” Mrs. Jung says in a stone-cold manner, looking at her daughter critically. “I don’t want you to go to that school anymore. I don’t want you near that girl anymore.”

The way she says ‘that girl’ sounds like the girl she’s talking about has some disease that’s like contagious and Sooyeon will be affected if she won’t change schools.

“You can’t do that, eomma,” Sooyeon quietly says.

“Yes, I can, Sooyeon. You’ve made me do this.”

“What are you saying, eomma?” Sooyeon hysterically exclaims. “What did I do?! What did I exactly do?!”

“This is wrong, Sooyeon,” Mrs. Jung says, shaking her head to her daughter. “I didn’t clothe you, feed you and raise you to be like that!”

“Like what?!”

Mrs. Jung doesn’t say anything, maintaining her lips in a thin line.

“This is who I am, eomma,” Sooyeon says weakly, falling back to her bed and looking at her mother, in hopes that maybe she can understand, maybe she will understand.

Mrs. Jung opens to say something but then closes it and leaves Sooyeon in her room, locking the door behind her from the front lock. Sooyeon closes her eyes and few stray tears fell. How long has she been crying already? She doesn’t know. She has lost track.

“Sooyeon? Hey, is something wrong?” Kyuhyun says over the phone, putting on shirt because he’s getting ready to go back to the dorm. His phone rings and he sees Sooyeon calling. Usually, he’s got his choice whether he wants to talk to Sooyeon or not but after everything that happened, he quickly answers the phone and hears Sooyeon sniffling.

“Oppa,” Sooyeon begins. “Eomma locked me inside.”

“WHAT?!” Kyuhyun drops the pants he’s been trying to pull with one hand because his other hand is holding the phone on his ear.

“She said I can’t go back to school. She said I’ll transfer to another school.”

Kyuhyun doesn’t know what to say. Sure, there will be no problem if it’s really Sooyeon’s choice to change schools because she’s a pretty good student, too, and her credentials wouldn’t be a problem. The problem is that if her mother will really make her change school, how long will it take for Sooyeon to take her own life? Okay, so maybe Kyuhyun’s exaggerating a little. Sooyeon’s not stupid to take her own life but seriously, it’s not even a problem about Miyoung already. Mrs. Jung has got it wrong. She can’t change who Sooyeon is.

“She can’t do that, Sooyeon,” Kyuhyun says.

“She can,” Sooyeon says, chuckling weakly at herself.

The sound of Sooyeon’s fake laugh sends pangs of bitterness in Kyuhyun’s heart. Why does this even have to happen to his childhood friend? Now that she’s finally changing from her bratty self to someone better? To someone who she really is?

“She can’t change who you are, Sooyeon.”

Sooyeon smiles and she wants to answer, “I know,” but instead, she remembers the reason why she called Kyuhyun in the first place. “Hey, Kyuhyun-oppa? Can you do me a favor, please?”

“What is it?”

Sooyeon sniffs and Kyuhyun knows she’s trying to hold back tears. Kyuhyun clenches his fist and waits for Sooyeon to compose herself enough to speak audible. “If I really am to change schools and never go back to the university again, if I really can’t go back, can you please tell Miyoung that I’m really, really sorry. I never meant to hurt her, oppa. I know she thinks she hurt me but I know I hurt her more and I’m really, really sorry for that. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive myself that I never let her explain herself and that I jumped into conclusions and now, this happened to us.” She pauses and takes another deep breath, “And oppa, can you please tell Miyoung that my mother’s wrong. I loved her and I still do.”

“Sooyeon,” Kyuhyun begins after hearing Sooyeon’s favor.

“Please, oppa,” Sooyeon pleads and it actually hurts Kyuhyun that Sooyeon is pleading to him now, to tell the person that she loves about her feelings because she probably can’t anymore; Sooyeon isn’t pleading, she’s demanding and Kyuhyun misses his childhood friend like that. “You’re the only one.”

“Sooyeon,” Kyuhyun repeats.

“What, oppa?”

“I can’t tell her that,” Kyuhyun says. “You should be the one.”

Sooyeon closes her eyes and bits her lips. “I can’t, oppa. I can’t even leave my room now.”

“Does uncle know?”

“Appa? I don’t know. I don’t think eomma’s told him already.”

“Uncle loves you; no matter what, right?”

“Eomma, too,” Sooyeon says, trying to defend her mother because she knows what must be clouding Kyuhyun’s mind now. “It’s just that, maybe she’s confused and she doesn’t know what to do.”

“That she’s locking you to your room now?”

“Oppa,” Sooyeon says again, “You know eomma loves me, too.”

“I know that, Sooyeon,” Kyuhyun says through gritted teeth. “But this isn’t right. She shouldn’t be locking you to your room and making you change school when you don’t want to just because she doesn’t want you to see Miyoung anymore. Did your feelings change because of what she did? Did you change?”

“Oppa,” Sooyeon begins, wanting to defend her mother but not finding anything to use to protect her because Sooyeon knows that Kyuhyun is right. These aren’t going to change her feelings. These aren’t going to change her.

“I’ll try to contact uncle,” Kyuhyun suddenly says.

“But oppa,” Sooyeon says, alarmed. She knows her mother probably doesn’t want her father to know this through phone or video chat – which she thinks will be Kyuhyun’s best shot in contacting his father. Her mother probably doesn’t want her father to know at all, that’s why she’s been trying to change Sooyeon so that her father doesn’t have to know. Sooyeon doesn’t even know where her father is so how could Kyuhyun? He could be in America or Japan or China. Those were the countries his father is always flying into because of business.

“Do you want to change schools?” Kyuhyun interrupts her because he knows Sooyeon will argue but really, Kyuhyun can’t think of any other way. He can’t argue with Mrs. Jung no matter how wrong he thinks she is because Mrs. Jung is still Sooyeon’s mother and Kyuhyun knows she’s only doing what’s best for her daughter. He still believes that Mrs. Jung loves her daughter and that Sooyeon is probably right, she’s probably only confused. And the only person who can argue with Mrs. Jung with how she’s raising Sooyeon is of course, Mr. Jung.

Sooyeon bits her lips again. “No, oppa.”

“Do you want to leave and continue trying to be who you are not?”

“No, oppa.”

“Listen, Sooyeon,” Kyuhyun begins. “It’s not that I don’t think Mrs. Jung doesn’t understand you or she isn’t even trying,” he says, even though he does think that Mrs. Jung isn’t even trying to understand Sooyeon’s situation and how hard it probably is on her daughter to come out, “It’s just that, I don’t want you to be someone you aren’t, okay? You don’t deserve that. Nobody deserves that. Who you are, that’s all you really need to be.”

Sooyeon smiles and even though Kyuhyun can’t see it, she wishes that Kyuhyun could realize the gratitude Sooyeon has for him. “Thank you, oppa,” she whispers, wiping some tears from her eyes. “But if you did contact appa, can you please let him know that no matter what, I still love him and eomma? Nothing will change that.”

Kyuhyun smiles, “Of course.”

“Um, oppa?” Sooyeon says after a brief moment of silence. “I don’t think eomma will let me go to school tomorrow. So I guess my apology to Jongwoon-oppa and Sooyoung and Joohyun will have to wait?”

“I understand, Sooyeon,” Kyuhyun says through another smile, thinking that Sooyeon is really changing but for the better. How could she think about saying sorry to people now when she’s on a verge of getting thrown to another school away from the girl she loves by the woman who gave birth to her?

“You’ll still help me, won’t you?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Do you think they’re still mad?”

“Jongwoon-oppa?”

“No, Joohyun and Sooyoung.”

“I don’t know but mad or not, you’re still due an apology for them, Sooyeon.”

“I know that. I’m just scared.”

“Scared of them?”

“Scared of what will happen. I wanted to apologize but what if I don’t ever get the chance to?”

Kyuhyun stops and realizes what Sooyeon must be thinking. “You’ll have the chance, Sooyeon,” Kyuhyun says assuringly. “I’ll make sure you do.”

And somehow, that puts an ease in Sooyeon’s heart because Kyuhyun’s words are like a promise that it do will come true. “I know I’ve said this before, oppa,” Sooyeon says quietly, not sure how Kyuhyun will react to this but she continues, hoping that Kyuhyun will not get what she didn’t mean and will get what she really meant. “But I love you, really.”

“I know you do and I love you, too.”

“I wish you’re just my real brother, oppa.”

Kyuhyun laughs, “Well, I don’t want a brat like you for a sister, Sooyeon.”

“You’re so mean!”

Kyuhyun laughs again, “Hey, Sooyeon? I need to go. I have another call. I’ll try to contact uncle, I promise, okay? Hang in there.”

“I will,” Sooyeon nods.

After Kyuhyun and Sooyeon’s conversation, Kyuhyun sees an incoming call from an unknown number. It could be Yesung using another number again so Kyuhyun answers in anticipation, “Hello?”

But then, when he hears the irritating voice of the person of the other end of the line, he realizes he shouldn’t have answered that call. “Oppa! Why did you go home this weekened? I’m going to surprise you with sandwiches and cakes in your dorm,” the irritating loud voice rattles on the phone and Kyuhyun has to move his phone a little away from his ear.

“Who’s this?” Kyuhyun asks even though he already has an idea who that freakin’ irritatin’ person is.

“Aw,” Yoona pouts, “How could you not recognize your girlfriend’s voice, oppa?”

Kyuhyun used to be irritated when younger girls call him oppa, especially those who he doesn’t really have any idea why they’re calling him oppa when he doesn’t even care about them and he doesn’t know them. It probably has something to do with how Sooyeon used to tangle herself to him calling him, “Oppa, oppa,” in a chipmunk-like voice. But now that he and Sooyeon has reconciled and it felt like he’s got his childhood friend back, it’s actually nice and warm to hear someone call him oppa since he’s got no siblings. But now, Yoona’s ruining the image of the word oppa in his mind and he’s finding it irritating again.

“Where’d you get my number?” Kyuhyun asks in the coldest tone of voice he could muster that he supposed would finally get through Yoona and tell her that Kyuhyun isn’t interested.

“Donghae and Eunhyuk?” Yoona answers in a teasing manner.

Kyuhyun shakes his head and swears to strangle Donghae and Eunhyuk for just giving his number to a stranger like Yoona. He doesn’t even care if Yoona’s the prettiest girl in the university or in the universe because for Kyuhyun, she’s just an irritating girl with doe eyes and alligator mouth who can’t take no for an answer.

“I’m hanging up,” Kyuhyun mutters.

“No, you don’t, oppa,” Yoona immediately says. “I’m sure you don’t want the entire school to know that your childhood friend, Jung Sooyeon, is a lesbian, right?”

What the ?, Kyuhyun grips the phone and grits his teeth.

“What the hell, Yoona? What do you want?” Kyuhyun demands, blood rushing from his entire body to his face, anger washing over him. No, Yoona wouldn’t cause another pain for Sooyeon. No, Yoona wouldn’t use Sooyeon against Kyuhyun. And no, Yoona wouldn’t control Kyuhyun because of Sooyeon.

“I just want us to have a nice dinner, oppa,” Yoona says, smiling satisfactorily to herself because she knew he got Kyuhyun.

“I’ll never date you, Im Yoona,” Kyuhyun says with great conviction on his voice.

“Then, would you rather have the whole school know about Sooyeon-ssi’s relationship with Hwang Miyoung? I’m sure I have some pictures that will prove them having a secret affair,” Yoona says, testing. “Holding hands below the desks… Kissing at the back of the building…”

“Goddamn it, Yoona! What do you want?” Kyuhyun yells angrily.

“I told you, I just want us to have a nice dinner.”

Kyuhyun grits his teeth again and mutters lowly, anger washing over him, “Fine.”

Yoona rejoices on the other end of the line and says all her plans about “their very first date.”

“But leave Sooyeon alone.”

Yoona smiles because she knows she finally got Kyuhyun.