“ANNYEONG!” An excited, enthusiastic little boy eagerly pounced onto Mihye as she left her room groggily the next morning.

Now, let me emphasize how much Woohyun loved sleeping. It would probably take Mrs. Nam at least 5 whole minutes just to get him out of his bed every single morning at 7am. But this morning, he actually woke up earlier than 7am, all by himself, simply because he couldn’t wait to greet his new sister. Yes, he was THAT excited.

Mihye looked at Woohyun, confused and albeit a little stunned from being pounced at the moment she stepped out of her room. She had cried herself to sleep once again, and her eyes were still puffy, swollen and red. She looked like a complete train wreck. But Woohyun didn’t seem to notice at all, he was way too happy to care about small details like those.

“Annyeong Mihye!” He greeted cheerily, giving Mihye a huge hug. “I’m Woohyun, and umma says that you’re my new sister! I’m so happy to finally meet you! Actually, I wanted to meet you last night, but umma said-“ Woohyun would have continued babbling on and on if Mrs. Nam hadn’t stepped out at that moment and cut him off.

“Aishh, Woohyun ah!” She pulled the little boy away from a stunned Mihye. “Mianhe Mihye ah...he’s just really, REALLY excited to finally meet you. Mihye, this is your new brother, and my son, Woohyun. He’s 10-years old like you too, except he’s born in February, making him a few months older than you. Mihye, greet oppa!”

Silence. Mihye didn’t respond. She just continued staring at Woohyun with her puffy, red eyes, not a single word coming out from . Well, you couldn’t exactly blame her. Not everyone could take the news as easily as Woohyun could, after all. Mihye had enough surprises already, she couldn’t possibly deal with anymore.

“It’s okay, Mihye ah. Take your time.” Mrs. Nam patted her head, understanding the reason behind her silence. “Now go wash up and change into your new uniform! The bathroom’s at the end of the hallway!” With that, Mihye nodded and made her way to the bathroom, leaving a confused and semi-hurt Woohyun with Mrs. Nam.

“Umma…” Woohyun voice trembled slightly as he looked towards his mother with watery eyes. “Why doesn’t Mihye want to call me oppa? Why doesn’t Mihye like me? Am I that dislikable, umma?”

“Ani,” Mrs. Nam sighed and ruffled her poor, rejected son’s hair affectionately. “You see ah, Woohyun, not every child is as lucky, or as happy as you. Mihye…she’s been through a lot recently, and it hurt her feelings and fragile heart very badly. So I can expect that she would be scared of people, and wouldn’t trust them so easily again. That’s why she doesn’t want to call you oppa, not because she doesn’t like you, but because she doesn’t trust you.”

“Umma…what happened to Mihye which made her like this? Woohyun wants to know! Woohyun really wants to know!” Woohyun pestered, practically dying of curiosity.

“Now Woohyun, it’s not in umma’s position to reveal Mihye’s secrets to you.” Mrs. Nam told him seriously. “Mihye must want to tell you, and for her to tell you, she must trust you first.”

“How can I make her trust me then, umma?”

“It takes time, but you have to show her that she can completely depend on you. You have to show her that you’ll never leave her side, and you’ll protect and love her like a caring oppa forever, you understand?”

Woohyun processed this for some time, before nodded slowly. “Ne, umma…I think I understand! Thanks umma! I’m going to walk Mihye to school now, even though she doesn’t want to talk to me!” With that, Woohyun darted off to get changed into his uniform, leaving Mrs. Nam chuckling with amusement at the adorable actions of her son.

Don’t worry, Mihye. You WILL call me oppa one day! I’ll work as hard as I can to show you that you can trust me, your Woohyun oppa! A determined Woohyun, with a new goal in his little head, thought excitedly. You’ll see!

Indeed, Woohyun gave his all that day. He offered to show Mihye the way to her new school, and chattered all the way non-stop, despite being constantly ignored by Mihye. Even upon arriving, he was eager to introduce his school to Mihye, showing her around the entire campus and still talking like there was no tomorrow.

Luck seemed to be on young Woohyun’s side as well. Fate seemed to give Woohyun many, MANY chances to interact with his new sister. For one, they were in the same class, which meant that they would be spending practically all of their school time together. And if that wasn’t a coincidence enough, the teacher had placed a shy Mihye besides Woohyun, because she felt that Woohyun, being so lively and lovable, would be the perfect person to make Mihye feel welcomed.

But despite his incredible luck, Mihye wasn’t really responding to Woohyun at all. In fact, she didn’t even speak a single word to him the entire day, despite having him sticking to her side practically the entire day. She refused to have recess or lunch with him, and ran off before he could find her and stick to her. She refused to accept any of his help during lessons, despite not knowing how to do a single question in her math workbook. (Believe me; Lee Mihye was HORRIBLE in math. And Woohyun was A FREAKING GENIUS in it. But Mihye still refused to accept his help.)

This continued for many days to come. Basically, every morning, Woohyun would send Mihye to school. He would chatter endlessly on the way there, with Mihye not replying at all. During lessons, Woohyun would always offer to help at every possible moment, but Mihye would refuse to accept it. During recesses and lunches, Mihye would refuse to eat with Woohyun. Instead, she normally went to an isolated corner of school to have her packed lunch alone. After school, Woohyun would always be waiting to send Mihye back home safely, making one-sided conversation with her again. When they reached home, Mihye would lock herself in the room, only coming out for mealtimes, totally isolating herself from the Nam family.

It was literally as if she were a mute. In fact, the last time Lee Mihye talked was when she had first found herself in the Nam residence. After that, it was almost as if Lee Mihye was invisible. She didn’t make her presence known at all. That was how bad it was.

Until one day. 

-------------------------

Annyeong(: Here's an early update for you guys, since I'll be going overseas tomorrow and I won't be back in time to update this story on Sunday(: Just take this as a belated Christmas present! See you guys next Sunday for my next update(: 

As usual, remember to subscribe, comment and upvote (if you want to) :) Really appreciating the support!