“You guys seemed to be in a heated conversation awhile back,” Sehun stated as he went inside the room.

   “What took you so long?” Jinri asked, looking up at him as Sehun sat on the chair beside her bed.

   “I was talking to Minho-hyung.” The blonde answered. “What’s up?” He quickly added because he knew how Jinri would become distant at the mention of her brother’s name.

   “We were just talking..” Jinri sent the other three a pleading look not to open up the topic again. Or at least not in front of her anymore.

   Taemin sighed, “About how she can’t be eating sweets for now.” He continued. “That’s why, baby girl,” he looked at the addressed, “I can’t give you the chocolates I promised.”

   Soojung blinked, “You promised her chocolates?”

   “Yeah, remember our Valentine’s date? When we sang at the revolving restaurant? The chocolates were what made her agree to sing with me.” Taemin grinned.

   “Oh yeah!” Jinri smiled brightly now upon remembering. “He bribed me!”

   “In exchange for chocolates,” Taemin clarified. “But you liked the idea anyway so whatever.”

   “Jinri sang?” Chanyeol grinned, “Whoa, she owed me one!”

   “Soon, Chanyeol-ah.” Jinri grinned back. “How about you bring your guitar some time and I’ll sing?”

   “How did you know I have a guitar?” Chanyeol asked, blinking.

   Jinri rolled her eyes, “For someone who knows how to play a guitar, who wouldn’t own one?” She raised an eyebrow.

   Chanyeol laughed, “Right.”

   Taemin nodded. “I like the idea,” he said. “Then let’s keep her room open so that everyone can hear how amazing baby girl’s voice is.”

   “Yaaah,” Jinri pouted. “That’s embarrassing!”

   “Shut up, you.” Taemin smirked.

   Sehun just smiled as he watched everyone talking and smiling with each other but he still had the feeling that chocolates weren’t the reason why they looked serious earlier.

   “So!” Chanyeol said as he sat on the free space of Jinri’s bed. “Can anyone tell me how everyone met everyone?” He tilted his head to the side.

   Sehun, Soojung, and Taemin gazed at each other with looks asking who will tell the story. They looked at Jinri but the girl just shrugged at them, which means she’s not doing it.

   “Fine,” Taemin sighed in defeat. “It’s a chain cycle, you see..”

Jinri was alone inside her room, about to drift off to sleep, when a knock was heard on her door and it opened.

   Minho went inside while saying, “Go away. You can’t go inside,”

   “Come on, hyung. I wanna meet her!”

   Jinri pushed herself up and saw Minho trying to close the door but someone from the other side was pushing it open.

   “Hyuuung!”

   “Oppa,” Jinri called, rubbing her eyes.

   Minho faced her and stood straight, as if he was caught in the act. “Jinri..”

   Upon the loss of the added weight, the other boy pushed the door hard, accidentally hitting Minho with it.

   “Yah!” Minho growled in pain and the other flinched.

   “Mianhae. You wouldn’t let me in so..” He looked at the girl on the bed and smiled as he made his way towards her. “Hey.”

   Jinri chuckled at the sudden change of attitude and smiled back, raising a hand a bit for a wave. “Hey,”

   “How are you?”

   “I’m.. doing good so far,” Jinri shrugged a shoulder, her smile never fading. “You?”

   “Same.” The boy grinned. “Taemin,”

   “Jinri,” The girl stretched out a hand and the new friend shook it.

   Minho just rolled his eyes.

   “Pleasure to finally meet you,” said Taemin. “Minho-hyung told me a lot about you.”

   “Likewise,” Jinri giggled. “Sorry, you had to meet me in this state.”

   “It’s fine. I would have waited for you to get well but I just couldn’t wait to meet you.”

   “Sorry, Jinri. I know you don’t like it when people find out about your condition but I slipped. I mean—He saw our pictures back at the dorm and asked me who you were and I said you’re my sister then he kept pestering me, wanting to meet you and all and I got sort of pissed and I blurted out you were in the hospital.” Minho paused for awhile to catch his breath because he talked so fast and added, “I’m so sorry, Jinri-ya.”

   “Gwenchana,” Jinri smiled, shaking her head. “He’s your..?”

   “Dormmate,” Minho answered. “A freshman.”

   “Ah, what’s your major?” Jinri grinned at Taemin.

   “Dance major,” The boy said proudly, grinning back.

   Jinri nodded acknowledgingly, “Well, I hope to see you dance soon!”

   “And I’ll do my best for you, baby girl!”

   “Yah!” Minho growled, glaring at the freshman. “Hold up, where did that come from?!”

   Jinri giggled.

   “Shut up, hyung!” Taemin whined, “I’ve always wanted to have a little sister, okay?”

   “Well, she’s mine.”

   “What’s yours is mine.” Taemin stated.

   “I don’t mind having two oppas though.” Jinri laughed, her statement making Taemin grin in triumph and Minho pout.

▢ ▢ ▢

Sehun visited Jinri after his dance practice on a Saturday and gave her the week’s lessons. That’s what he had been doing ever since Jinri got confined. He would take notes for her to review on so that she wouldn’t fall behind. Then they talked to catch up with each other and Jinri annoyed Sehun, telling him to get her out of the room and roam around the hospital.

   A knock was then heard and when Jinri said “come in”, a girl came inside. After closing the door, she walked towards Jinri only to be stopped by someone else’s presence.

   “Sehun-ssi..?”

   “Jung Soojung..” Sehun stood up from his seat, blinking his wide eyes, seeing one of their classmates on the same room as they are.

   Soojung, who visited Jinri for the first time in days, looked at her best friend questioningly, indirectly asking why he was there.

   “Sehun was the one who helped me.” Jinri answered, smiling.

   “Ah,” Soojung smiled back and bowed. “Thank you for taking care of Jinri.”

   “It’s my pleasure,” Sehun smiled. “I wanted to be here anyway.”

   Soojung raised an eyebrow teasingly, “Mm-hmm,” she chuckled and looked at Jinri. “So how have you been?”

▢ ▢ ▢

“What’s this supposed to be? Some kind of a reunion?” was Minho’s greeting one day when he walked inside Jinri’s room and saw Sehun and Soojung seated on each side of Jinri’s bed, playing snakes and ladders with her. The board was spread on the middle of the bed and Jinri was sitting crossed-legged to give enough space.

   Jinri looked up whereas Sehun and Soojung had to turn their heads because their backs were facing the elder.

   “Hey, oppa.” Jinri grinned.

   Taemin then went inside, whining a bit. “Hyung, you didn’t tell me you were going to Jinri’s room already!” He turned to Jinri. “Baby girl, hyung is—Oh.” He stopped, seeing as they weren’t alone in the room. “Hi,” Taemin bowed and grinned at the two visitors. “Lee Taemin here.”

   Sehun and Soojung stood and bowed as well.

   “Oh Sehun imnida,”

   “Jung Soojung imnida.” The girl smiled.

   “They’re my friends from school.” Jinri added.

   “Ah, I see.” Taemin nodded, immediately going beside Soojung and looking at the board after greeting her with a “hey.”

   And soon enough, when Jinri’s other friends: Qian, Amber, and Sunyoung, were able to visit Jinri, they also met Taemin and Sehun.

“Wow, so it had been a year, right?” Chanyeol grinned and playfully punched Sehun on the arm. “You sneaky ninja,”

   Sehun just laughed.

   “I’ve been noticing those pictures ever since though,” Chanyeol pointed at the framed pictures: one of a girl taking a selca of herself, sitting on a sofa that looked like the one inside Jinri’s room, and another of the said girl and Jinri smiling and laughing. Jinri’s hair was still long in the picture. “I’ve never seen her before in school.” He added, seeing as they were wearing the same uniform.

   Everyone was quiet for awhile. Soojung and Taemin were looking down whereas Sehun was looking at Jinri with his eyebrows furrowed; the light atmosphere created earlier was gone completely.

   Chanyeol noticed the silence and cleared his throat, “Was I.. not supposed to ask that?” Then he added an apology.

   Jinri shook her head sadly and said, “Her name is Bae Suji. She doesn’t study in our school; I just lent her my uniform because she wanted to wear one. That time, she was confined for a year already..”

   “Then where is she now?” Chanyeol asked. “Why haven’t I seen her?”

   “. . . She’s gone, Chanyeol-ah..” Jinri looked down, her hands on the white sheet covering her lower half. “She has the same condition as I am.”

   “I’m sorry,” Chanyeol placed a hand over one of Jinri’s fists and as if on cue, a tear landed on the back of his hand. “Hey,” he furrowed his eyebrows as he scooted himself beside Jinri.

   Jinri chuckled bitterly as her free hand wiped her tears, “Sorry..”

   “You should go rest.” Taemin said as Soojung gave Jinri another glass of water.

   The girl nodded and slid herself down on the bed after drinking.

   Sehun placed a hand on Jinri’s head, caressing her hair, knowing that it has always helped her fall asleep. “Don’t cry, Jinri-ya.”

   “I miss Suji,” She whispered, another tear escaping from the corner of her eye.

   Sehun smiled sadly, wiping the tear away with his thumb. “Don’t we all?”

   When Jinri was already sleeping, Sehun and Taemin told Chanyeol the whole story about Suji.

   “That’s the reason Jinri sees her brother as a murderer..” Sehun ended with a sigh.

   “So now, I understand..” Chanyeol frowned, nodding. “I’ve always wanted to know why.” And that’s another sad discovery about his ball of sunshine.

   The topic about the heated conversation was not left unsaid as well.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: I felt like this is such a boring update for you, guys. HAHAHA, so I apologize for that if so. I just wanted to fill you all in with how they met and stuff so there. Anticipate the next chapter though, it’s going to be quite intense. :P Or at least for me. Any ideas as to what work I should go for this summer? Comment below! With your review about the chapter, of course. :)