As soon as Seohwa stepped into the restaurant, she let out a high-pitched scream.

Small hands encircled her left leg, clinging tautly onto her white knee-high sock and simultaneously almost making her lose her balance. Before Seohwa almost kicked the person off from her, she noted who the attacker actually was.

“Ya!” She groaned, “Kang Kiwoon!”

Although Seohwa was trying to look furious, she couldn't hide the smile that slowly formed on her lips. Seeing the six-year old boy grip onto her leg was adorable. She bent down and picked up the boy, cradling him in her arms. She remembered how little the boy used to be and, even though she had seen him two months ago, Seohwa couldn't believe how much heavier he was and how quickly he had grown.

“Noona!” He joyously yelled out, planting a wet kiss on her cheek.

She had to owe it to Uncle Minhyuk and Uncle Leeseol. If Kiwoon hadn't been born, Seohwa would continue to had been the subject to all the adult's attention. At least they stopped babying her now because Kiwoon had become her replacement.

Seohwa placed Kiwoon back onto the ground. As she did, Kiwoon immediately hid behind her legs. He peaked at the stranger who entered the restaurant behind her in curiosity and pointed directly at Daejin.

“Noona, who's he?”

She cast a gaze at the person and found Daejin grinning back at her and the little boy.

“He's your idiot hyung.” She motioned to Daejin. “He's uncle Jonghyun and Aunty Sora's son.”

“Seohwa, address Daejin properly.”

As soon as her name was said out loud, Seohwa felt dry up. She didn't have to look at the person to know who had spoken her. The voice belonged to her mother.

Avoiding Seohyun's gaze, she looked anywhere but at her mother's direction. Seohwa hated it when her mother acted like this, lecturing her in front of everybody and mouthing words of disappointment at her. She hated it so much.

Seohyun relentlessly continued, “I've raised you to have manners, young lady and-”

Rolling her eyes, Seohwa droned her mother out. As much as she had been hurt with what her mother said about her, she had enough of her mother's complaints. Especially when Daejin was there and his parents, whom she hadn't seen for year. Seohwa felt like she was in an intense scolding session more than having being reunited with Daejin and his family.

During the trip to the restaurant, Seohwa had been quite tempted to the taxi's door open to avoid going to the dinner that night. Her mother should be proud that she even bothered to agree to make an appearance.

However, when she met her father's eyes Seohwa's confidence diminished. Seohwa hadn't seen her father for almost a week. He had been too pre-occupied with work. She could see dark bags under his eyes. It was common for her father, since he was a workaholic, but Seohwa believed that his eye bags looked even darker than usual.

Yonghwa started, “Seohwa-”

“I'll be in my room,” Taerin announced, interrupting them. Taerin had somehow read the tense atmosphere in an instance and had conveniently broken the ice. She had entered the restaurant after Daejin, closing the glass door behind her.

Although Seohwa was grateful that Taerin had broken the ice, she was not thankful that Taerin was going to make a getaway, leaving her alone with the adults and Daejin. It was a catastrophe waiting to happen!

“Have dinner with us.” Seohwa forced a smile, clutching onto her unnie's arm.

“I've already had lunch with everybody earlier before I picked both Daejin and you up.” Taerin sent Seohwa an apologetic glance. “And I have to do some editing. I've left my holiday film last minute so I can't afford to go over the deadline-”

“You're bailing on me. I get it, I get it,” Seohwa grumbled, sulking like a little kid who hadn't been granted permission to have candy.

Seohwa watched Taerin's back as she stepped up the staircase. She wasn't the only one who bailed on her. Little Kiwoon was hurriedly climbing up the stairs after Taerin. Traitors!

“You still have me!” Jungshin exclaimed, grinning widely and making her laugh out loud.

She walked past her parents and greeted everybody else. Despite holding a grudge against her mother, Seohwa disliked it when people didn't have manners. Individually, Seohwa greeted all her aunts and uncles. When she got to her godparents, Uncle Jonghyun and Aunt Sora, she gave them both a tight embrace.

“You've grown up beautifully, my dear,” Sora smiled as Seohwa took a seat next to Jungshin. “Hasn't she, Jonghyun?”

“Yeah...” Jonghyun shrugged, awkwardly. Seohwa cracked a grin.

Her father had often told her how the lead guitarist in CN Blue had always been one of the awkward ones. He was still handsome, as she had remembered, but she could see the wrinkles on his forehead. While she had added a few years to her age, it was evident that her godfather had also aged.

“But what about me?” Daejin interjected, batting his eyelashes and earning a look of repulsion from his father, but a snort of laughter from Uncle Jungshin.

As Seohwa was about to set her bag down onto the floor, she let out a scream when she saw a girl sitting under the table. “Uncle Minhyuk, there's a little someone under your table? Didn't you book the restaurant out?”

“Yes, but Mina's not a customer. She's one of the family,” Minhyuk said, displaying his famous eye-smile. His eye-smile had become his trademark that women fancied in the films and dramas he starred in.

“Family?” Seohwa blinked. Was she missing something here? Aunty Leeseol and Uncle Minhyuk had already taken in Taerin and had their own son, Kiwoon, together.

Leeseol giggled when she noticed Seohwa staring at her in bemusement. “No, not my daughter. Jonghyun and Sora's daughter – Daejin's sister.”

Seohwa turned to Daejin and gawked. “You have a sister?”

Daejin gave her a grim stare back because he read what Leeseol was thinking without her mentioning it out loud. There was a big age difference, possibly a ten year gap between Mina and Daejin. Seohwa was surprised that innocent-looking Aunt Sora and Uncle Jonghyun were still going at it and-

“Seohwa.” Her mother warned her. “You are being inappropriately intrusive and rude-”

“It's no big deal,” Sora waved off. “It was seven years ago after all.”

“Yeah. Jonghyun's going to wait another three years so that there will be another ten year gap,” Yonghwa commented, which caused everybody to laugh and Uncle Jonghyun to shoot a threatening look at him.

Seohwa didn't understand it. She had never seen her father joke for a while like that. Well, she had...but it had been a long time. Although her father appeared completely exhausted, she could see how enthralled and joyous that her father's best friend, Uncle Jonghyun, had returned to Korea.

“But why is she hiding under the table?” Seohwa asked.

“She's embarrassed,” Jonghyun explained. “She doesn't know how to speak much Korean and Kiwoon keeps saying he wants to kiss her. Minhyuk, do something about your son! He's already raging with hormones. Control him!”

“Don't look at me. He gets it from her.” Minhyuk pointed at his wife who punched him on the arm as he spoke.

Out of all the relationships, Seohwa always loved witnessing Uncle Minhyuk and Aunt Leeseol interact. Apparently, according to Uncle Jungshin, Minhyuk used to be a stick in the mud and was incredibly boring. Ever since Minhyuk had met Leeseol, he had changed into a new person. Seohwa often spent time with Taerin when she could, therefore being at Uncle Minhyuk's restaurant was quite common whenever she wanted to hang out with Taerin. Besides, free Korean barbecue that induced unstoppable salivating was always a plus.

“No girlfriend yet...or boyfriend?” Jonghyun teased Uncle Jungshin from across the table.

“Shut up,” Jungshin frowned.

Jonghyun changed the subject, cocking his head towards Seohwa. “How about you?”

“No,” Seohwa stammered.

“Who would like her?” Daejin cut in. “She still doesn't know how to tie her shoelaces.”

Seohwa looked down and realised what Daejin said was correct. She hated tying her shoelaces and it had been a bad habit of hers not to tie it, inevitably causing her to have many careless 'trips' growing up. All Daejin had spoken so far were snarky comments that irritated the hell out of her.

Growling, Seohwa jammed the heel of her shoe onto his foot.

He kicked her off easily, grinning. “Don't need to touch me now, Seohwa. I know I'm hot stuff. While everybody thinks you've grown pretty, I've turned quite good looking too-”

Before Seohwa could reply, the whole table was laughing. To her surprise, even her mother joined in. She didn't understand how Daejin was Uncle Jonghyun and Aunt Sora's son. He was nothing like them. His personality was horribly irritating!

When the conversation turned dull and the parents started talking company talk, Seohwa finished her last scoop of rice before quietly disappearing from the table.

Her parents hadn't said anything about her runaway yesterday, and Seohwa wasn't keen about them talking about it over the table. Besides, she'd rather hang out with Taerin than here them chatter and be in Daejin's presence.

Without making a sound, Seohwa slipped away from the table.

•••••••••••••••

Seohwa didn't knock when she walked into Taerin's dimly lit bedroom.

Nestled in Taerin's lap was Kiwoon. Seohwa could hear the little boy's soft breathing. He had fallen asleep. As usual, Taerin hadn't realised that Seohwa had slipped in her room.

Seohwa silently took a seat on the king-size bed. Seohwa always suggested to Taerin that she get a smaller bed because it took most of her room's space and since she was the only one sleeping in it. Of course, Taerin had a different view. She liked the bigger bed because she liked drawing down potential plot ideas for short films or movies while she was laying down.

However, whenever it related to editing film, Taerin would spend hours on her desktop. Seohwa remembered when she was little, when sometimes Aunt Leeseol would babysit her, watching Taerin spend hours non-stop, focusing intently on the computer screen while editing short films to absolute precision and perfection. Taerin had never met anybody so passionate before and because of this, Seohwa really looked up to her unnie.

She couldn't understand how somebody could have such a passion. Seohwa did have hobbies, but nothing so strong and inspiring to make her give her motivation.

After another ten minutes of quietness, Seohwa began to feel restless.

She wriggled off the bed and began to examine Taerin's endless collection of DVDs. While Taerin's bed was enormous, the wall of DVDs also limited the room's space. It was only when Seohwa cursed at stumbling over her shoelaces, Taerin had awoken from her trance.

“Finished dinner?”

“Yeah,” Seohwa replied. She stretched her arms and smirked when she saw the romance section. All Taerin's DVDs were organised by genre, not by title. She had a wide range from foreign films to documentaries about gnomes. Whenever Seohwa needed something to watch, she'd always ask Taerin for recommendations since she had a whole library of films.

“Taerin, sometimes I wish I could be like you.”

“Why would you want to be like me?” Taerin laughed. “I'm one obsessed freak. If I wasn't into films, I'd be a junkie.”

Seohwa didn't know whether to laugh along with her or not. She had once overheard her mother talking to her father about Taerin's father being a drug addict and how Taerin had never seen her even once she was born. It saddened her, but Seohwa knew that it didn't really get to Taerin as much since she considered Aunt Leeseol and Uncle Minhyuk as her true parents anyway.

“No. Seriously,” Seohwa sighed. “I don't know what's going on in my life anymore...”

“Don't we all,” Taerin mumbled, clicking the mouse to save the media file. “Trust me, I'm still trying to figure it out. You shouldn't worry about such things. You're too young to worry about reality. Enjoy high school while you can.”

“Easy for you to say. You know what you want and you're good at what you do.”

“Just because you're good at something doesn't mean you have to do it,” Taerin said. “Yes, I've found my calling...but sometimes you've just got to go with the flow. Something will come out that you'll find interesting.”

“I don't know, Tae,” Seohwa answered. “Maybe it's because I've had more time to think on my own, now that my best friends are together.”

Even though it wasn't like Ryumin and Chaeyoung were excluding at her, sometimes she did feel like a third wheel. It hadn't bothered her at first, since they had always hung out together, but it was different now that they were dating.

“Maybe it's a good thing then?” Taerin suggested. “Them dating is like a figuring-out stage for you.”

“And with my mother being at my back about being a lawyer or something extravagant and annoying...I just don't know. I really don't.”

“You like surfing, don't you?”

“That's more of a hobby,” Seohwa grumbled. “I don't have a good voice like dad. I don't have the intelligence like my mother innately does. I'm a lost case.”

“Don't worry about these things. Just do your best. Work hard. Somewhere along the line you'll find something.”

She raised an eyebrow and replied, “And if I don't?”

“Blame me. I'll shout you a swimming pool worth of cookies n' cream ice-cream. It's all on me. I promise you.”

“Sounds good,” Seohwa giggled.

While Uncle Jungshin was Seohwa's confidant, Taerin was another person she went to when she was feeling troubled. Although she was close to Jungshin, sometimes she felt there was too much of an at times. And Taerin...she was free-spirited and never was judgemental or straight-laced like how her mother was.

“Anyway, I need to go to the toilet,” Taerin announced. “I need to take a dump.”

“And that's something I really didn't need to know.” Seohwa grimaced, yet took Kiwoon in her arms when Taerin held him up to her.

Seohwa shuffled on her feet and watched as Taerin left the room, only to find Daejin walk in right after.

“Mango pudding?” Daejin offered. Seohwa glanced at the three bowls he had, somehow, managed to bring with him from downstairs.

Seohwa sat down back onto Taerin's bed and rested Kiwoon's head onto the pillow. She then suspiciously looked at Daejin. “You didn't poison this or anything?”

Daejin chuckled. “Why would I do that for? If I had, I had the chance of mixing it up with noona's and I would never want to poison her.”

Seohwa took a bowl from Daejin's grasp, but wrinkled her nose at the same time. “Sometimes I wonder whether you have an older sister complex? You act really with Taerin that it's disgusting.”

“Why? Are you jealous?”

“Please,” Seohwa huffed, digging the silver spoon and tasting the mango pudding. “This is good.”

“My mother made it,” Daejin told her, sitting besides her. “Sometimes I think that's why my father married her.”

Seohwa laughed.

“You're really laughing at my comment?” Daejin gasped, feigning shock. “I thought you weren't capable of such a thing!”

“Oh, shut up.”

Daejin didn't reply, but he smiled in response. He put one of the bowls onto the desk and commenced devouring his pudding. “You're still confused, aren't you?”

“What?” Seohwa snapped. “What am I supposedly confused about?”

“What you want to do,” Daejin answered simply. “Like how you still don't know how to tie your shoelaces, you're still trying to fit and live up to your mother's standards.”

“I am not,” Seohwa denied, but she knew what Daejin said was right. It infuriated that Daejin had most likely been listening in on her talk with Taerin earlier.

However, in some sense, Daejin was correct. Seohwa had never thought if it that way and it didn't help that Daejin, out of all people, was telling her this. He had been absent from her life for such a long time, yet he seemed to know what was occurring around her.

“You need to stop doubting things. Be spontaneous. Do whatever you want. Even kiss whoever you want to-”

Seohwa moved away from Daejin, alarmed by how he had suddenly advanced closer to her, as if ready to plant a kiss on her lips. Her heart raced for a few seconds before slowing down. Daejin wasn't going to really kiss her, was he?

“Keep your lips to yourself,” Seohwa snapped. “I don't want somebody like you kissing me.”

She looked into his deep brown eyes, but she couldn't see the usual sparkle of amusement in them.

The sudden movement on the bed roused Kiwoon.

“Kissing?” Was the first word that Kiwoon recited as soon as he had woken up. He had caught the end of Seohwa and Daejin's conversation. “Kissing?”

Daejin smirked. “What about kissing, Kiwoon?”

“I want to kiss Mina,” Kiwoon announced.

At least Seohwa found that something did get under his skin. Daejin, was like how older brothers were...over-protective in relation to their younger siblings.

Seohwa wanted to pet Kiwoon's back when he saw Daejin lose a shade of colour. Instead, she opted to giving the little boy a spoon of mango pudding as a reward. “Keep saying how much you want to kiss Mina, Kiwoon. I'm sure Daejin wants to hear it all.”

She couldn't help but feel happy as she watched her arch-enemy fume while Kiwoon chattered on to him about how pretty Mina was.

Daejin glared at Seohwa and she sent him a wink back.