Chaerin was hungry. And she could smell something good was cooking. Her stomach growled as she stood up, headed out her door and down the stairs still half asleep.

"Appa, what's for breakfast?"

She was still rubbing her eyes, trying to clear her vision when someone replied in a nasal voice.

"Oh so she's the kid? She's pretty cute."

A man with cornrows, approached her and she took a step back, frightened. Chaerin would have classified him as cute with his round face, slightly arched brows and a prominent mole on his right cheek. It might have been the combination of the piercing in the middle of his lips and the calculating look in his eyes but Chaerin considered him dangerous instead of cute. He was wearing glasses, but that didn't detract from the air of menace that seemed to surround him. This wasn't a man you'd want to meet in a dark alley for fear that he will rid you of your savings. 

As she came wide awake, Chaerin took in her surroundings. She was in the middle of an apartment. On her right was a huge black leather couch where the man with cornrows came from. The room had white walls which were bare save for the huge photo of a woman with a man's hands covering her s. Blushing, she quickly averted her gaze from Janet's Rolling Stones cover. She looked ahead of her and saw the kitchen. It was only separated from the living room by a white counter with metallic stools near it. She blinked back as her eyes landed on a half blonde guy sitting there grinning at her. 


"Watch your words Jinhwan. You're poaching on Teddy's territory. And I'm pretty sure she's also Jiyong's new pet," said the blonde guy. If Chaerin could come up with a word to describe him, it would be “pretty”. He was drinking something from a mug which said Family Man. His blonde hair was already showing roots but instead of looking washed out, it looked glossy. Both his ears were pierced and his stud earrings shined in the morning sunlight that streamed from the window panes in the kitchen.

What was she doing here? Who were these people? Confusion must have been obvious on her face because the blonde guy placed his cup down, stood up and approached her.

"Hi. My name's Taebin." He extended a hand. He was handsomer up close and his deep voice was richer with a relaxing cadence in it. Chaerin was unnerved by his ness being so near her albeit it was only his top half that was exposed. But she was polite so she shook his hands. "Jiyong's still asleep and Teddy went out. They instructed us to feed you and send you home."

"Jiyong? Teddy?"The first name sounded familiar. And then it hit her. Soon Bok and Sun Jung, the fight in the alley and the two guys who helped her. 

"Ah, I see you're finally remembering. Why don't you take a seat first. Where do you live?" 

At the mention of home, Chaerin groaned involuntarily. Her father was going to ground her forever. 

"They'll forgive you. Don't worry. You seem like a good kid anyway. Now eat."Jinhwan gave her a plate with a pancake drowning with butter and syrup on it. The food made her a bit queasy but she took it and went over the kitchen counter to eat. She must have been famished because in less than a minute, she devoured the entire thing much to the amusement of the two men.

"So, what did you do to make those two guys take you here?" Jinhwan was obviously curious about them.

Chaerin munched and swallowed another piece of the pancake that Taebin placed on her plate. "I, I just got injured. I don’t know why they took me home.” Not that Chaerin was ungrateful but if they just woke her up, she could have gotten to her own home so she won’t be in such a big mess with her father. She remembered when her  then 16 year old sister was grounded – they revoked access to her phone. Chaerin smiled. She could live without them. Those things are evil and she didn’t get why people were so attached to them. Then she frowned. Her dad knows she treasured her music collection so maybe that’s what he’ll take. She sighed as she mentally counted how long she won’t be allowed to listen to see her babies.

A laugh interrupted her thoughts. Taebin ruffled her head and spoke, “Kid, you know how transparent your feelings are? You better learn to mask your thoughts soon or that will be your downfall when you grow up. The real world isn’t nice.”

Kid? Chaerin huffed at that. She was 14 not 10. And even then she’s always been very independent. She could handle herself. She wasn’t a child. 

“Ah, you resent that. Do you go by a name?” Taebin grinned at her. 

“My name’s Lee Chaerin.”

“Well, Chaerin. Best finish your food and then get your things. We don’t really want Teddy coming home and seeing that you’re still here.”

“Is Teddy the old guy from yesterday?”

That earned raucous laughter from the two men. The laughed harder and harder and couldn’t seem to stop. Jinhwan doubled over and Taebin turned around as they struggled to control themselves.

“What’s the joke all about?” a young voice cut through the laughs like a knife. 

Chaerin looked back to see the boy she saw at the alley last night. His eyes were barely open and his hair was sticking out in all directions. He was wearing a pair of checkered pajamas which barely disguised his skinny frame. In the light of day, he looked much like a normal teenager.

“Hi.” She waved at him as he walked past her. He didn’t even look at her. Instead he went straight to the fridge and took a pitcher of water out and placed it atop the kitchen table.

Rude much? Chaerin thought. 

“Are you sick? You’re up early this morning,” asked Jinhwan who approached Jiyong and extended a hand to feel his forehead. Before he even touched it, Jiyong had already tapped it away. 

“ I asked a question, what’s the joke all about?” Jiyong said as he poured the water into a glass.

“Oh it’s just that Chaerin called Teddy, “old guy”. It just made us laugh,” said Taebin.

“What’s so funny about that? If she thinks hyung’s old, then she must think both of you are ancient too. After all, all three of you are almost the same age.” Jiyong stated without inflection. 

That made Taebin and Jinhwan stare. Chaerin waited for the two to give Jiyong a beating or at least a lecture since he didn’t even speak in a respectful tone. To her surprise both of them just laughed it off. 

“Ah, as expected from Jiyong. You have a point,” Jinhwan said after a while. “Now, Chaerin. I think the two of you have met yesterday.”

“What’s the brat still doing here?”

“Excuse me?” Chaerin glared at Jiyong who was still ignoring her.

“Hyosook noona won’t be here until next week. Do you want to tweak the lion’s tail today?”

That softly said reminder must have carried a silent threat because Taebin suddenly pushed her towards the stairs and whispered, “Wash up and get your things. We’re leaving.”

Jiyong’s grin was malicious, enjoying the look of discomfort on the other guys’ faces. Chaerin hurried upstairs to collect her things. Just as she was taking her third step up the stairs, the front door opened. 

“Tick tock, time is up. The lion’s back.” Jiyong said in a sing-song voice as he took the glass of water and then drank the contents in one gulp. 

“Yo, T. You’re back, um, early.” Jinhwan’s voice lost its gruffness as he greeted the newcomer.

“Teddy,” Taebin greeted calmly. 

Chaerin went up a couple of steps until she was hidden from view but didn’t move further.

“10 minutes.” It was the voice she heard yesterday - a little less raspy, more of breathy and soft spoken than anything else. 

Chaerin was startled as she watched Taebin moved fast from the foot of the stairs and went up to her. 

“Quick, where are your things?” 

She just pointed at the room where she came from. He hurried inside it and as he came out, he was already holding her backpack. “Is this it?” Chaerin could do nothing but nod. Satisfied with that, Taebin grabbed her wrist and dragged her downstairs. As soon as they got down, Taebin exchanged a glance with Jinhwan who stood near the front door playing with car keys in his hands. Taebin pulled her towards Jinhwan who took the backpack from Taebin’s hands and ran outside. “Go to Jinhwan. I’ll follow you,” said Taebin.

Chaerin glanced back as she took her leave from Taebin to where Teddy stood, curious as to how he really looked like. He was dressed similar to what he was wearing yesterday – the hoodie with a cap on it partnered with faded jeans. It was as if he had eyes at the back of his head. He turned around and met her eye to eye as if he sensed her gaze on him. And just like yesterday, her skin began to form goosebumps. She stood there, pole-axed, hypnotized by him. She felt raw, exposed, out of her element. He didn’t blink but just stared at her quietly then a corner of his lips started to lift as if he was going to smirk. But he didn’t. Instead, he arranged his cap again, tipped it gently to the side and nodded. 

“Chaerin. Let’s go.”Jinhwan’s voice was insistent. Like a person snapping out of a spell, Chaerin shook her head, turned to the front door and walked away as fast as her feet allowed. It was only when she descended from the apartment to the sidewalk where the car of Jinhwan was parked, that Chaerin realized that her heartbeat hasn’t slowed since she saw him. 

He isn’t old.

That was all Chaerin could think about as Jinhwan instructed her to sit at the back while they waited for Taebin to join them. She mulled over the events and even as she stared unseeingly at the back of Jinhwan’s head, the thought lingered. Suddenly, the passenger door opened and Jinhwan gasped in surprise.

“T? Where’s Taebin? Why-”

“Drive.”

Chaerin felt her heart begin to race as she self consciously looked at Teddy through the rear view mirror. They made her way to her house with Jinhwan asking for directions and Teddy just sitting there silently. When she stepped out of the car she faced the two and bowed 90 degrees while saying thank you. It was something she should have done earlier but forgot. The car didn’t leave and they waited for her to go inside before she heard the car speed away. 

Chaerin braced herself for the upcoming hell her father will raise as soon as she stepped inside their house. Surprisingly, the house seemed empty. As soon as she got inside their home, she spied a folded note over the kitchen counter and found out her father went out of town last night. He left instructions about the food they’ll reheat for the next two days. She sighed in great relief. How could she forget? Her father told her about the out of town trip when the week began! She can get away with her little escapade last night! Now, the only thing left to do was to shut her sister up.

When she entered the room she shared with her sister, she saw that her cds were strewn all over the place that the thought vanished completely from her head. She heard a creak coming from the bathroom and rushed over there to tell her sister to lay off touching her collection. What she saw wasn’t what she expected.

Her unni sat at the cold tiles brushing her hair while she leaned against the bath tub. She was singing while wearing a headset plugged to an old cd player.

I know that underneath your saddness,
Deep inside your eyes,
You have him in your heart --
I know that all your promises have become lies...
Your innocence made you believe it'd last forever.

She started towards her but noticed something odd. When her sister folded her legs, she saw that there was so much blood on her pink pajamas that it leaked towards the floor. The trail of blood moved through the cracks of the tiles coloring them red. 

“Unni! Unni! You’re bleeding!” She knelt down and held her unni’s legs, willing the bleeding to stop.

She just glanced at her with dead eyes and sang calmly, “I swear on the stars, That I'll live and I'll die for you, Baby girl...” 

The bleeding didn’t seem to stop. A bottle rolled towards Chaerin’s feet. She took it and read Mifeprex on its label. She didn’t know what to do. She ran outside and screamed for help.

“Chaerin! What’s wrong? Why are you covered in blood?” Jinhwan stood there holding her backpack. Teddy was leaning at the hood of the car smoking but he stopped momentarily as he stared at her. 

“Help me please! It’s my sister! She’s losing blood. I don’t know what’s wrong with her! “

“Where?” came the steady reply from Teddy.

“She’s inside! Please, let’s take her to the hospital!”

Teddy went inside without so much another question. When he went out, he was carrying her sister who now looked pale with her hair hanging limply over her face and still carrying the cd player. He put her sister in the backseat 

“Go sit near your sister Chaerin,” Jinhwan said as he started the car. Teddy jumped in the passenger seat. 

As they sped towards the hospital, all Chaerin could hear was the mellow voice of the singer coming from the headphones.

You'll be able to
Close your eyes and rest.
If you ever feel like crying again,
Just lean on me...
La La La


She uttered a silent prayer asking God to spare her sister. She added a little incentive. She promised that if her sister lived, she’ll never listen to music again.