Chapter three;

Who are you?

►4MINUTE what's your name

" You and Jaemi, have you two made up?" JongDae played with the cup in his hands nervously as he glanced at the female.

"Nope." She answered in a sing-song manner, running a hand through her newly dyed hair. " What do you think about this?" 

" About what?"

" About this captain obvious." She said pointing to her hair. " My new hair colour, Duh! "

JongDae scoffed mockingly . " It's fine but why green and blue highlights? It looks weird."

" It's the vogue JongDae. " She studied herself in the mirror. " Plus it contrasts well with the black dye." She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.

" Okay...?" He blows out air from his lips before propping himself on his palm. " So...What happened between you and Jaemi?"

So Ah kept mum as she picked up the latest edition of vogue, from her nightstand, before plonking herself down in her white leather recliner; flipping through the pages of it- blocking out the words of the male. She didn't want to hear them. 

" So Ah..." He called again.

The female glared at the male with an irate expression for an unfathomable moment before reverting her attention back to the magazine.

JongDae sighed. " So-"

So Ah shut her magazine and slammed it onto the adjacent table. " Shut it would you?" She hissed. " You of all people should know how much I hate talking about such issues. So shut it!"

JongDae let out an exasperated sigh, running a hand through his hair. So Ah glance at him and contrite immediately engulfed her. " I'm sorry." she muttered, knowing that the male sitting in front of her was only concerned about her. He was her best friend since birth, her other pea in the pod, her big brother that she could count on. " It's just that..." Her lips drew into a thin line. " You know how I don't like people butting into my relationships..."

JongDae nodded in response, the gaze in his eyes filled with nothing but worry. " I know. I know. But you can't keep feigning ignorance about this little..." He raised his hands and air quoted. "  fight. It's affecting you."

So Ah let out a breathy sigh. " I know JongDae...but I've other matter on hands which are of a more pragmatic priority to worry about than worry about that little 'fight' ."

" Like? "

" You know.." She gestured.

" The dance competition?"

" Yeah something between those lines. " So Ah replied as she grabbed her phone from the nightstand , looking through the message that was sent to her. Her eyebrows furrowed as she in a breath of air sharply at a message. " ." She cursed.

JongDae looked at her disquietly. Some thing was wrong. Despite being sarcastic and crude, So Ah was not one to curse and swear arbitrarily ; whenever she did, something was wrong, definitely wrong. " What's wrong?"

So Ah exhaled heavily shutting her eyes as she threw her phone onto her bed and rolled onto her back, covering her face with her hands. " my life. "

JongDae's forehead creased. " Why? What's wrong."

So Ah got up and walked to her wardrobe, pulling out a pair of denim wash ripped jeans and a navy blue A-cut plaid shirt. She removed her shirt and JongDae's eyes immediately widened. " Yah!" He shouted, turning around, away from the scene. " What the hell do you think you're doing?"

" Changing." She replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

" But I'm here!" JongDae exclaimed, flabbergasted.

She slipped her shirt over her head. " So? It's not like it's the first time. We did it when we were younger." 

" But...But.." JongDae groaned loudly, slapping a hand over his forehead. " That was when we were still young and pure. So Ah, if you haven't realised, I'm a fully grown man with raging hormones and there you are changing in front of  me like it's no big deal!"

" It isn't oppa. You know..." She unbuckled her shorts and slipped on her jeans. " When a girl changes in front of you, it means that you've been friend zoned, or should I say, brother-zoned. " She grinned, buttoning her pants. 

" I'm going now, I've to attend to something important." She threw her phone into her sling bag and slung the bag over her shoulders. 

" But what about tonight? Instructor Lee doesn't know about this right?" 

So Ah halted momentarily. " Tonight..." She muttered, gnawing on her lower lip. " I'll be there, for sure. I've prepared so much for this night, I can't afford not to go and yeah, Instructor Lee doesn't know about this so keep it a secret, you know how much he disapproves of me doing this but I can't help it."

JongDae pursed his lips in a straight line, nodding in response. " Take care." He said softly.

" Thanks." So Ah said, from the bottom of her heart. 

≈   ≈   ≈

So Ah alighted from the bus and rushed down the blocks of decrepit buildings,down the abandoned street, into the last house .

She whipped out the key from underneath the mat and opened it. The interior was a wreck. Glass bottles were broken and strewed all over the room, the room reeked of alcohol and rotten food, the thick suffocating smell of mold filled every molecule of the space; the room was dark, lit by only a small narrow slit of light allowed in by the holes of the grey cotton curtains. 

She coughed a couple of times as the thick air engulfed her senses, suffocating her.  " What's the problem now? " She asked imperiously , by the door, her arms crossed over her chest. 

" My dear daughter..." The figure by the darkest corner of the room croaked out. He broke into a sinister smile, revealing his yellow-stained nicotine teeth. " How are you? "

" Cut the crap short." She snapped. " What the hell do you want? " She could stand no longer than a minute in this house- it brought back to many memories, her patience was like a threat that was going to snap- it was wearing thinner by the second.

He took a swig from the bottle of whisky in his hand. " I only wanted my dearest daughter to come home; is that even wrong? " He mocked.

"Home?" So Ah scoffed loudly. " Home? " She repeated again, her voice rising by an octave;  filled with ridicule and mockery. " Bull!" She spat out.

" Ah, my dear daughter; this is home." He hiccuped. " This was where you grew up, where we lived as a family. "

So Ah glared at him furiously. " This place." She took in a sharp breath of air, her chest rising and dropping like a ship in troubled water. " This place, this hellhole , is not my home. It stopped being one when Mom died. " She paused for a moment, staring at the figure in the corner, swallowing the lump at the back of . She couldn't cry now; she forbid it.

 "You killed her." 

So Ah's head snapped up in an instant, her eyes widening by a fraction. "What did you say?" Her voice lowered seriously. He cackled all too loudly, the now empty bottle of whisky dropping to the floor. "Didn't you hear me ? " He slurred. " Han So Ah, you killed your own mother. " 

And that snapped the female into half in an instant. " What ? " Her face suffused with red. " I dare you to say it again." She challenged.

The male chuckled sardonically. " You killed your own mother Han So Ah, your mother died because of you." 

" Shut up ! " She cupped her hands over her ears, desperately trying to drown his taunting voice out. " Shut up! "

" Am I wrong my darling daughter? " He continued, his face contorting to an ugly sneer. " If you never-"

" Shut up! " So Ah screamed hysterically,  cutting off his words , sinking to the ground as her legs gave away . " Shut up..." She croaked out, tears welling in her eyes as the incident replayed itself in her mind- vividly and clearly. No matter how much she tried to erase it, she couldn't. The incident was engraved deeply in her mind like a scar- it could be covered up but it was permanent- it was a part of her and nothing could erase it.

≈    ≈    ≈

The bathroom door slammed open. " Kim JongIn ! " 

Jong In eyes widen as he glared at the intruder; his hands flying to cover his nether region.  " What the ?" He yelled, angered at his interrupted privacy.

The female at the door crossed her arms over her chest and stared at her younger brother calmly, her head tilted coolly to the side. " What? " She raised a brow at him, her gaze on him unwavering - unfazed at the fact that she had walked in on her -  younger brother in the shower. 

" I'm showering Noona! " He growled angrily.

" And? " She questioned, staring at him with an amazed expression.

" What the are you doing in here? "

The female hummed in response, tapping her finger on her chin as if in deep thoughts. " Checking on my little brother. " She shrugged nonchalantly. " The last time I checked, my little brother was afraid of showering by himself." She grinned childishly.

Jong In scoffed. " That's it? " He questioned incredulously. " That's ing it?"

The female nodded, an expression abet too innocent displayed on her beautiful face.

Jong In groaned. " Get out Noona! I'm showering ! "

" Tsk." She leaned on the door frame. " What's there to be embarrassed about Jong In ? " She asked. " I've seen everything." She eyed his prized possession and chuckled. " Please Jong In, I've seen better." She smiled at her brother sweetly. " It's not that impressive any way."

Feeling the bomb go off in his head, Jong In's face suffused with colour like a school boy who's sweets were stolen. " What the ing Noona? "

The female shook her head disapprovingly. " Language Jong In, Language. " She teased, enjoying this little game they were playing.

He shuts his eyes, gritting his teeth to contain his anger. "Get out Noona."

" Alright then. Enjoy your shower Jong In." She shuts the door behind her. " I'll be waiting downstairs in the living room."

Jong In heaved a sigh as the door closed, running a hand through his already wet hair, he muttered a torrent of curses as he reached for the shower gel but before he could smear it all over his body; Knocks rang on the door.

" What?" He hollered harshly.

" By the way Jong In, your isn't that big either so don't think too highly of yourself." His sister teased from the other side of the door. " Bye bye." She sing-songed.

" Kim Su Nae ! " He shouted in annoyance. His sister had not only insulted his manhood once, but she had done it twice and it was a slapped in his face every time she did so. To say Jong In was mad was a complete understatement, Jong In was fuming. Period.

Jong In dried his hair as he stood in front of his full-length mirror. He adjusted his black leather jacket and checked himself out.

" Old habits die hard right my baby brother? " A feminine voice resonated from the door.

He threw his towel onto his bed before turning around. " Noona." He grumbled.

" Aww." Su Nae cooed, walking over to her brother's side. " Is my little baby angry? " She pouted slightly., pinching Jong In's cheek endearingly, earning a loud groan from him. " Tell m