“How does this look?”
Yuni turned around and faced her friend Saenan. Saenan was sitting on Yuni’s bed, reading a book. She looked up, investigated Yuni’s outfit for a couple of seconds and then nodded. “Yes, he’d like that,” she answered.

Yuni was wearing jeans, a white top and red all stars. Her blonde hair was tied up in a loose bun with a couple of strands framing her small face. She smiled and turned back to the mirror. I hope he likes it.
“So, when is he picking you up anyways?” Saenan asked as she slammed her book shut and stood up.
“In fifteen minutes. Can you do my make-up? I still have to put my circle lenses in.” Yuni rambled.
“Stop with the circle lenses already, has he even seen you without those?” Saenan asked slightly irritated as she moved across the small bedroom. The yellow walls played with the light coming from the bedroom window; the spots that weren’t covered with posters and pictures, that is.
“No, he hasn’t,” Yuni said with a small voice and looked at herself in the mirror. Her self-consciousness took over and she felt a slight panic starting to brew in her stomach. “But he will, someday. Just not today. Maybe. I don’t know. Can’t you just do my make-up, please? It’s almost time,” Yuni begged as she swiftly moved away from her mirror and started collecting mascara and eyeliner. “Sure,” Saenan sighed defeated.
This was the first time that Namjoon was going to pick her up at her house and meet her family for the first time. She wondered how her big brother would take it; she had never brought a boy home before.
“Alright, done!” Saenan beamed satisfied with the results. Yuni jumped up from the chair next to her desk and ran back to the mirror again. “Thanks Saenan,” she smiled. Saenan grabbed her book and bag from the floor. “I better get going if he’s coming soon. Have fun,” she said as she gave Yuni a small hug. Yuni watched her leave her bedroom as she straightened her clothes once more. The knot in her stomach was still there and growing, slowly rushing towards her head. Her breaths started to fasten as she tried to distract herself from the voices in her head. The soft buzzing which continued traveling from each side to the other. Whispers, mumblings, words, cackling.

He won’t like it. What were you thinking?

Yuni took a deep breath. No, not today. She closed her eyes as she sat down on the bed, trying to control her breathing again. After a couple of seconds she heard faint ringing in the distance, which brought her back to reality. The ringing came from her cell phone, buzzing on her desk. She stood up and shakily grabbed her phone, answering the call.
“Y-yes…”
“Yuni? It’s Namjoon; I’ll arrive at your home within five minutes, are you ready?”
“Yes, I’m ready,” she whispered.
“Alright, see you in a bit, jagiya.”
She stared at her phone when he hung up, questioning if she really was ready. She was just so very scared about all the things that might go wrong. Theory after theory, all disasters, started to pile up in her mind. A heavy weight started to push on her chest as she still sat on her bed, staring blankly at the walls.

After some moments, the doorbell rang. Yuni swiftly looked at her bedroom door. He’s here. It took her a couple of seconds before she could make her muscles work again. Walking down the stairs, she had to hold on to the walls for her legs were like jelly.
“Come in,” she could hear her brother Sihyun say at the bottom of the stairs where the front door was. Her nerves took over every piece of sanity she had left. Finally arriving downstairs, she was welcomed by her brother and her boyfriend.
“It’s for you,” Sihyun said bluntly as he walked back to the living room. Namjoon smiled widely at her as he whispered a small “hi”. Yuni smiled nervously as Namjoon grabbed her hand and gave it a small kiss. “You seem nervous,” he said, looking at her with a worried expression. “I’m fine,” she replied shortly as she followed her brother to the living room.
Sihyun was sat at the couch, which was positioned in the middle of the living room. A small coffee table divided the space between the couch and two small chairs. Yuni’s mother walked in from the kitchen and places a pot of tea on the coffee table before taking a seat in one of the chairs.
Yuni and Namjoon entered the living room quietly. Namjoon bowed towards her mother as she walked up to her to introduce himself.
“Hello Miss Shin, it is an honour to meet you. My name is Kim Namjoon.” Her mother took his hand and smiled at him. “Welcome.”
Yuni moved to the couch to sit down, when she saw her brother swiftly move to the centre of the couch; preventing the couple to sit next to each other. Yuni gave him a foul look for this action, as Sihyun smirked and folded his arms in front of his chest. To her surprise, Namjoon sat down next to her mother. Still slightly taken over by her anxiety, she sat down next to her brother, crossing her legs.
“This is a lovely home, Miss Shin,” Namjoon said as he took a small look around the living room. “Thank you, young man,” her mother replied sweetly as she poured everyone a cup of tea.
“How do you know Yuni,” Sihyun bluntly asked.
“Well, that’s kind of complicated,”Namjoon replied kindly, not taken back by the tone Yuni’s older brother used, “it may confuse you.”
“Try me.”
“I have a neighbour whom I hang out with a lot, he is my age. He goes to a different school than I do; in fact, he goes to Yuni’s school.  His girlfriend is friends with Yuni. Through them I got to meet her.”
Namjoon slowly explained while looking Sihyun straight in the eye. Yuni could feel the tension between the two of them. Her pulse started to rise as she quickly grabbed her tea and started sipping. Please don’t quarrel. Please like him.
“I see,” Sihyun said confidently, “and what school do you go to?”
“I go to the private college across the park.”
“Oh, so you’re a rich boy?” Sihyun said with a derisive tone in his words.
“Shin Sihyun!” his mother warned him and giving Namjoon an apologetical expression.
“It’s alright,” Namjoon smiled, “I do come from a wealthy family, but that is not the reason why we chose that college for me. They have an excellent music program, which I’m very interested in.”
“Alright,” Sihyun muttered as he grabbed his own tea and looked away. Yuni’s eyes were wide as she watched the scene. Her panic was still rising inside of her but she tried hard not to show.
“Namjoon is very talented,” She muttered. Her mother seemed very interested. “Tell me about your talents!” she said. Namjoon started telling about the fact that he wrote lyrics and made songs in his freetime. Yuni glanced at her brother and noticed that he was frowning as he took a sip from his tea and met her eyes. She shook her head slightly in disbelief for her brother’s rude way of speaking. He only shrugged and looked away again. Yuni watched how her mother and her boyfriend talked. She couldn’t wait for him to finish his tea already so that they could leave. Her anxiety was so high that her hands started shaking.
“I’ll make more tea,” said her mother as she stood up and walked towards the kitchen.
Sihyun glanced from his little sister to the guy sitting across the living room. He took a deep breath.
“How many times have you seen my sister before coming here.”
“Excuse me?” Namjoon said taken aback.
“I want to know how long you have been seeing my sister behind my back.” Sihyun said directly. His voice was calm but threatening. Yuni’s eyes shifted from Namjoon to her older brother. “Does it matter?” she squeaked.  “To me it does,” Sihyun snapped at her, without taking his eyes off the young man. Yuni could see Namjoon hesitate for a moment as their eyes met. Yuni had been dating Namjoon for about 4 months now, and never had she introduced him to her family. Suddenly she felt she betrayed her family and the familiar warm, distressed feeling crept upon her cheeks.
“We’ve seen each other only among friends, really.” She lied. Namjoon looked at her with concern.
“Really? Are you sure?” Sihyun said while he folded is arms in front of his chest again.
“Why do you care anyway, you usually barely talk to me and are always too busy for me!”Yuni snapped when she turned to her brother, her anxiety taking over completely.  “Because I am your brother and I need to protect this family!” he bellowed.  They stared at each other for a short period.
“What is going on here,” mother’s soft voice broke the silence, “Are you two fighting in front of our guest?” Sihyun quickly fixed his posture. He smiled as he responded; “No mother, I was just letting Yuni know that I was concerned for her.”
“Well that’s kind of you, Sihyun,” his mother replied while smiling at her kids.
“Unfortunately we have to run,” Namjoon suddenly said, “I have a reservation for us.” Yuni looked at him. “You do?” she said surprised. He winked at her.
“How sweet that you’re taking her out for dinner, enjoy,” her mother said with a warm smile. Yuni stood up quickly and walked over to her mother to give her a kiss on the cheek. She ignored Sihyun as she walked past him towards the hall. “Thank you for the tea, Miss Shin,” Namjoon bowed once more as he followed Yuni towards the hall, “See you again, Sihyun-hyung.”
Sihyun puffed mockingly. “Yes, see you soon.”

Yuni hurriedly put on her shoes and grabbed her jacket. Namjoon kept his silence as he put on his. The walls of the hall were closing in on her and the air suffocated her. She almost ran out the door, into the cool spring air. Februari was dainty, a watery sun hid between the leafless trees as it was slowly going down. A soft breeze played with her blonde locks as she stepped into the outside world and inhaled deeply. Her anxiety started to fade, as every tiny piece of her lungs filled themselves with the cool air. She closed her eyes and breathed for a moment. A hand softly placed itself on her lower back. “You sure you’re alright?” a low voice whispered softly in her ear. She opened her eyes and turned around to meet Namjoon’s. “I’m fine, don’t worry about me.” She smiled.
He laced his arms around her petite waist as he pulled her closer. “Good,” he whispered against her lips before giving her a small kiss. The moment he touched her lips; the knot in her stomach turned into a big ball of butterflies, bursting and spreading through her whole body as she kissed him back. Her arms instantly locked around his neck as she felt the safety of his embrace flowing over her body. She was fine as long as he was with her. Their kiss only lasted for some moments, before Namjoon pulled back and grabbed her hand. “We really need to go now, I really have a reservation for us.”
“What? I thought that was just a bad excuse to leave?” Yuni said surprised.
 “Nope,” he simply replied before softly tugging her arm and leading her towards his car. Yuni smiled a little, surprised by the sweet gesture of her boyfriend. After taking a seat in the passenger seat of Namjoon’s silver car, she looked over to the driver’s seat. Namjoon got comfortable before starting the ignition. They drove towards the city centre. Yuni couldn’t take her eyes off her boyfriend. He wore black slacks and a dark blue button down shirt. His white sneakers didn’t really fit the rest of his outfit, but it made him look more casual. He looks so handsome. Namjoon glanced at her swiftly before focussing on the road again.
“What are you staring at,” he says playfully.
“You really dressed up, I feel like I picked the wrong outfit…” she said as she stares at her jeans.
“I just wanted to make a good impression on your family, jagiya,” he put a comforting hand on her knee, “And I actually really like what you’re wearing today.”
Yuni didn’t smile at the comforting words, her facial expression slowly growing into a worrisome state. Insecurities building up once again; the knot returned in her stomach. She bit down on her lower lip to distract herself from the soft murmur that started to erupt in her mind. She felt a gentle squeeze in her thigh, as she was pulled back to reality. Namjoon smiled at her. “We’re here.”
“Oh,” she simply replied as she looked out the window of the car. They were parked at a small parking lot in the middle of the city centre. She quickly got out of the car and looked around to figure out which restaurant they were going. The sun completely left out of sight already, and night started to fall. The twilight scene of the city made her smile. Namjoon joined her on her left as he grabbed her hand. “Let’s go.”
The pair walked through busy city streets. Streetlights played with shadows of the passing citizens and stars started to pop up in the sky. The uneasy feelings she had in the car were forgotten the instant she looked at her companion. The feeling of security and warmth he gave her was enough for her to take on the world. She let go of his hand and locked arms with him instead, tightly holding on to his biceps. A curious smile formed on her face as she looked around.
“You are so curious, aren’t you.” His warm voice reached her ears.
“What? No, I trust you take us somewhere good!” she quickly said.
He chuckled as they took a left. “Here we are.”
Namjoon led her into a small restaurant, with warm colours on the walls.
“Spanish? But don’t they have spicy food? You know how-“ she started but Namjoon wouldn’t let her finish. “Yes, I know you don’t do well with spices. Don’t worry, I asked for a special menu for you.” He quickly pressed a kiss on her forehead before speaking to the waiter, explaining about their reservation. Yuni grinned widely. She was so lucky.

“I am stuffed!” Namjoon groaned, rubbing his belly while exiting the restaurant. Yuni snorted. “Well, obviously; you ate almost 700 grams worth of meat in there.” Namjoon laughed loudly before grabbing her hand once more and placed a kiss on it. Yuni giggled.
They started strolling back to Namjoon’s car, enjoying the cool Februari air.
“Did you enjoy your evening, miss?” Namjoon said as he swung his and her arm gently back and forth, still holding her hand.
“Yes, the food was delicious.”
“Good, good.”
“Did you enjoy it, sir?”
 “Well, it started off rocky. But I think your mother likes me.”
“I apologize for my brother’s behaviour,” Yuni quickly explained, feeling very bad about how her brother rudely fired questions at Namjoon.
“Yeah, he was quite forward, wasn’t he? It’s alright, though. I can take a hit,” he laughed.
“He was so overprotective, I just don’t understand why…” she mumbled. Namjoon looked at her with one eyebrow lifted. “That’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? You’re his baby sister, of course he’s protective. If I had a sister I would be protective over her too when some dude showed up at my doorstep and wanted to take her for dinner.” Yuni stared at the floor. “I guess you’re right, but my brother and I aren’t really close. Actually, we barely speak to each other. He’s always busy with his ‘cooler’ friends.”
“Hmm,”Namjoon hummed as they walked around the corner, “Maybe you should talk to him?”
“I don’t know,” Yuni’s insecurity started to grow again as she thought about her brother.
“You worry too much, jagiya. There will be a day that we’ll get along.” Namjoon squeezed her hand softly.
After a quiet ride home, they arrived at Yuni’s front door again. “Should I walk you to your door?” He offered. Yuni giggled. “You’re sweet, but I think it’s best if you stay clear from my house before my brother jumps on you like a guard dog.” Namjoon chuckled with her. He leaned against his car with Yuni standing in front of him, nervously playing with her jacket. He studied her posture for a moment before grabbing her by the wrists and pulling her close to his body. Yuni felt the warmth of his chest and couldn’t help but put her arms around his waist, holding on tightly. Namjoon softly pressed his forehead against hers as he stared at her with big eyes. “Why are you nervous,” He mumbled.
“What makes you think I’m nervous,” Yuni said hastily, avoiding his gaze. A husky chuckle made her focus on his dark eyes nevertheless. “I KNOW you Shin Yuni, don’t hide your feelings for me,” he said before locking his lips on hers once again that night. The feeling or his soft lips touching hers was indescribable. Every muscle in her body tingled as she felt him pushing their bodies tightly together. One of his hands placed gently in her neck, making it impossible for her to escape his kiss even if she had any intentions of doing so. Their intimate moment seemed to last forever, as their lips continue dancing together. She didn’t want to stop, but Namjoon suddenly pulled back. With a pouty lip, she looked at him. He chuckled. “Go inside, it’s late. You got college tomorrow.” She sighed angrily. “Fine,” she mumbled. Namjoon placed a last kiss on her nose before releasing her from his tight grip. She walked toward her front door, but not without turning around to throw a pouty-face at him again. He shook his head with a smiled and motioned to walk further. “Goodnight, jagiya.”
“Night,” she said as she opened her front door, watching him getting into his car and driving off.
Before she put one step into the hallway, she heard a low voice coming from the dark living room.
“Finally home, are we?”
“Sihyun-oppa,” Yuni started but he wouldn’t let her talk. She the light to see him sit on the couch, with his arms crossed in front of his chest. His expression predicted a rage was about to start.
“It’s a school night. Where in the world have you been,” he bellowed.
“You know where I’ve been, Sihyun. I went out for dinner with Namjoon,” she explained with a small voice while holding on to the door post of the hallway. Her legs became weak by the way her brother spoke to her, the anger in his tone made her cringe. “But why so damned late?” he stood up.
“He just dropped me off with the car, we were just eating..” her words were useless. Her brother was already angry and no words or explanation would change this. He sighed angrily as he walked past her towards the stairs. “I’m going to sleep. Don’t pull this on me again, or I will get really angry,” he spat at her. Yuni just cringed with every word he spoke, feeling her body being taken over by the warm distressed feeling of her anxiety. Her pulse going through the roof, she quickly took her shoes and jacket off and started going up the stairs to her own bedroom.  She didn’t sleep well that night.

Her brother and mother were already seated at the kitchen table when Yuni walked in the next morning. “Good morning, honey. Eat some breakfast with us,” her mother said. Yuni nodded and took a seat next to her brother, whom didn’t even look at her. Nothing new, she thought to herself, it’s not like they interacted with each other usually. She grabbed a bowl of cold soup and started eating her breakfast without saying a word. She wouldn’t let this get to her, or at least tried to not let it get to her. Her brothers anger was still there, she noticed by his posture. Deciding not to cause another ruckus, she quickly ate her food before getting up again and putting on her shoes. “I hate to run, I wanna be early at school today,” she explained.
“For you boyfriend?” Sihyun said. His words struck again. Slightly annoyed she responded; “No, if you paid attention to the conversation; he goes to a different school.” She quickly ran out the door and made her way to college.

Despite spring coming through slowly; the weather was still cold but thankfully not as cold as it has been the past few months. The school grounds started to show signs of spring; the snow was gone and small spring flowers started to bloom. With her shoulders slouched, Yuni trudged across the schoolyard towards the entrance of her school when she heard a familiar voice calling her name.
“Yuni-ah!”
She turned around to see Hyejoon rush over to her. “What’s up, girl!” she said cheerfully.
 “Well, you seem happy, what’s up with you!” Yuni smiled at the sight of her happy friend. Hyejoon started to explain all about her and Taehyung, while walking to the familiar spot the group always hung out. Hyejoon jumped on the bench as she continued telling her story, excitedly.
“It’s been only a month since me and him started dating but,” she plopped down on the bench with a big sigh, “It’s so wonderful…”
Yuni sat down next to her and smiled at her smitten friend and felt happy for her.  “He is SUCH a gentleman, though,” Hyejoon continued, “it gets annoying sometimes.”
“Our boyfriends need to stop hanging out together,” Yuni laughed. Hyejoon looked questioningly at her friend. “Why is that?”
“I had a very romantic dinner yesterday with Namjoon!” Yuni squeals when she told her friend all about her wonderful night. However, she did not tell Hyejoon about the confrontation with her brother, nor his rude ways of speaking towards her love. She felt too ashamed to do so and did not want to worry her friend either. In the middle of her story, they were joined by Jimin and Saenan.
“Hello my beautiful ladies, what a pleasure to be in your presence once more,” Jimin said with his mellow voice as he moved towards the bench. Hyejoon rolled her eyes at the boy but smiled.
“Good morning girls,” Saenan greeted them with a smile like she wanted to say “I know; Jimin is at it again.”
“But I love seeing you the most, Hyejoon-ah. Did you miss me since yesterday?” Jimin whispered in Hyejoon’s left ear when he flung his right arm around her. "You can stop hogging her now, because she's taken." Yuni frowned playfully and smacked his arm that he had placed around Hyejoon's shoulders. The latter immediately lifted his hands in defence before moving away from behind the bench. "My bad!" he countered but leaned in until he was only inches away from the two. "Still a shame, though."
He winked at Hyejoon with a seductive grin before he straightened and sauntered away, leaving three girls amusedly confused.
“So, it’s official?” Saenan asked Hyejoon. She shrugged in response. “I don’t know; he hasn’t asked me officially yet, but we see each other a lot.” Saenan smiled at her friend. “Don’t worry about it, though. I’m sure it’s going to work out just fine.”
Yuni only smiled. She enjoyed being around her friends so much; it took her mind completely off all her insecurities, anxieties but mostly from the whispers in her head.  No one knew about these issues she had been camping with; she felt this was for the best. For the first time in her life she actually had good friends. Her anxieties always prevented her from becoming friends with someone; let alone date a person.
Suddenly, they spotted Jin walking up to them. The girls glanced questioningly at the latter, casually but confidently walking toward their bench.
“Ladies,” he started, followed by the girls nodding in response. “Make sure you hang out with us during the second break, okay? We’ll be expecting you.” He winked and walked towards the school entrance.
The girls shared another glance with each other. “Well, that was formal,” Hyejoon said with an amused frown. Yuni wondered what could have been so important for them to get a formal invitation to hang out with their friends.

During the first lunch break, Jungkook and Jimin spoke about sports and other boy stuff which the girls couldn’t be bothered with much. Yuni once again got enough food to feed China while the others just stared at her when she devoured it all without any troubles. Hyejoon shook her head disapprovingly. “You eat like an elephant.” Yuni smiled with full in response. Saenan glanced towards Jungkook for a moment, but Hyejoon probed an elbow between Saenan’s ribs when she noticed. “Stop that, you look ridiculous,” she whispered, “You’ll freak the boy out before you even get the chance to ask him on a date.”
“I’m not going to ask him on a date,” Saenan quickly whispered back, “That is so… feministic.”
Hyejoon rolled her eyes. “All of you should’ve lived in the 80’s, seriously. Chivalry is your thing, isn’t it.” Yuni blushed as she thought back about her date with Namjoon from last night, resulting in butterflies still managing to flutter in her already extremely full stomach. The school bell indicated the start of the next couple of classes and the five quickly made their way to their homerooms.

The second break arrived and Yuni couldn’t help but to be curious about Jin’s strange invite. She went outside to the school yards with Jimin strategically walking next to Hyejoon, who had a quite annoyed expression on her face cause of his greasy lines. Saenan and Jungkook were once again behind, strolling and talking about their common interests.  Once their hangout spot came in sight, Yuni spotted the second year students already waiting for them.
Shindae, Baeri and Chaima sat on the familiar bench and were chattering about something in a very exciting manner. It was one of the few times that the first years saw Shindae with an actual cheerful mood. The older boys Yoongi, Jin and Hoseok were goofing around in the spring grass and laughing loudly.
The two groups came together and all greeted each other cheerfully. Jimin quickly moved towards Yoongi and started talking about his ‘wonderful’ pick-up lines he used towards Hyejoon. Yoongi shook his head and laughed with his gummy smile. “You are incorrigible, Park Jimin, I swear to God.”
“I can’t help it I’m popular with the ladies, Suga, don’t be jealous cause you’re whipped,” Jimin said before avoiding Yoongi’s swinging fist with a big grin. Shindae threw a scowl at him and Yuni noticed the others slightly giggling at the scene. Saenan turned towards Jin. “Why did you gather us all together, Jin? Don’t we usually hang out during this break either way?”
“Because I asked him to,” a familiar honey-sweet voice said. Yuni, Hyejoon and Saenan turned to Shindae when they recognized the voice. She wore her blue jacket which matched well with her long, brown hair. Her bangs were swept to the left side and were hold in place with a white hair pin. Sitting on the bench with her legs crossed, her hands comfortably resting on her lap, she stared at the first years with a serious expression.
Yuni was slightly frightened of what was yet to come.
“Why,” Hyejoon bluntly asked.
Shindae slightly lifted one eyebrow at the latter before recollecting her faculties for a moment and continuing.
“My parents are not home tomorrow, so they gave me permission to invite some friends over.  I’d love for you all to join us.” She smiled.
Yuni quickly threw a glance at her two fellow female first years. Saenan happily accepted. “Wow, thank you for inviting me. I’ll be there!”
Hyejoon looked a bit sceptical. The two hadn’t had a friendly conversation together so far, and Yuni wondered if Hyejoon would be okay with coming.
“Taehyung will be there as well, “ Shindae said confidently, noticing Hyejoon’s expression.  
“Then why didn’t he mention this to me this morning?” Hyejoon said with a slight snarl in her tone.
“Because I told him not to, obviously,” Shindae said with her scarily honey-sweet voice.
The two stared at each other for a short moment before Hyejoon spoke again. “I’ll go if Yuni is going.”
Yuni turned red. She didn’t like it when all attention was focussed on her and the knot started to form in her stomach again. Everyone waited for her to answer.
“I-I’ll come, if Namjoon is coming too…” she mumbled.
“Ofcourse,” Shindae said brightly, “he is part of the group.”
“Alright!” Chaima exclaimed before jumping up, “PARTYYYYY” Chaima and Hoseok started goofing around, pretending they were drunk and couldn’t walk anymore. The group laughed at the two clowns and Yuni moved towards the bench where Shindae and Baeri were sitting. Baeri, however, stood up when Jin motioned for her to stand with him, Jungkook and Saenan. Baeri giggled before giving Yuni a slight wink and running over to her friends. Yuni sat down next to Shindae and watched how Hyejoon got dragged into the drunken act of Chaima and Hoseok and giggled softly. Yoongi was still trying to knock some sense into Jimin, which left Yuni and Shindae alone. Shindae hadn’t moved from her confident position and slightly looked at Yuni.
“How are you, Yuni?” she smiled.
“I-I’m fine, thanks,” Yuni mumbled.
“It seems like something is bothering you.”
Yuni looked at Shindae, surprised. “W-what?”
“Did something happen with Namjoon?” Shindae asked sincerely. Yuni had never seen this side of the ice queen and was a bit taken back. She wasn’t sure if she should tell her about the conflict between her, her brother and Namjoon.  Somehow, she decided to do so.
“My brother wasn’t very excited to meet Namjoon, to say the least,” she started.
Shindae’s gaze focussed back on the group of friends in front of them. “Why is that?”
“Well, he was a bit overprotective, I suppose… Did you have any troubles with your family accepting Yoongi?” Yuni asked curiously. Shindae’s lips formed in a crooked smile and chuckled. “No, Yoongi is well accepted within my family. We have been dating for over a year now, and my family simply adores him.”
Yuni looked slightly disappointed. She hoped to ask for some advice from her sunbaenim, but the cold tone in Shindae’s voice returned quickly. Shindae looked at Yuni before speaking again.
“Maybe you should try harder for your family to accept him.” She smiled as she stood up and skipped towards her boyfriend, grabbing his hand. Yoongi placed a kiss on her forehead and smiled at her. Yuni felt a slight jealously growing. Why couldn’t her life be as easy as Shindae’s?  Wealthy parents, a wonderful family who accepted her perfect boyfriend, no pesky brothers who were harsh on her, a great group of friends… They shared the last matter; however, Yuni still felt it wasn’t the same.
The second break was over and everyone returned to their classes. Yuni still had the knot in her stomach.

Yuni arrived home that afternoon, still feeling gloomy. She dropped her schoolbag on the floor in the hall and put her slippers on before entering the living room. Her mother was already working on supper. Yuni plopped on the couch with a big sigh and the TV.
“Shouldn’t you be doing homework or something?”
Yuni turned towards where the growl came from. Her brother stood in the doorpost of the living room and walked up towards her.
“I already finished it at school,” Yuni mumbled before focussing back on the TV.
“I’m going to get some last ingredients for dinner, kids. Be nice to each other please,” their mother said while moving towards the hall. The two teenagers replied with a unanimous “sure” before both focussing back on the TV.
Suddenly, Yuni felt uneasy. She wanted to talk to her brother about last night.  She turned off the TV and turned towards her brother and grabbed all the courage she had. Sihyun looked at her with an annoyed expression, for doing so.
“Sihyun-oppa, I need to talk to you.”
“What about,” he said before looking away again.
“About last night, actually. I just don’t understand why you’re being like this to me all the time,” she mumbled. She didn’t know where this sudden burst of courage came from, but as quickly as it arrived; it disappeared faster than she could imagine. She started getting nervous again.
Sihyun was not amused by this accusation. “What do you mean? Being like what?” he snarled.
Yuni cringed slightly as her brother stood up, his anger building up.
“I mean, you’re always so mad at me; we never talk like a normal brother and sister. You were so rude to Namjoon…”she said with a small voice, avoiding her brother’s angry gaze.
“I’m trying to protect you!” he bellowed as he walked away from the couch.
“From what though?” Yuni started to raise her voice as well. Her anxiety started to mix with the anger she felt towards her brother, for always treating her wrong.
“What do you think?” he shouted. “People can take advantage of your illness. Especially boys.”
“Advantage? HOW?” Yuni looked at her brother in disbelief.
“I know how boys are, just trust me on this.”
“That doesn’t even make sense!”
“I promised dad the moment he died that I would take of this family. And I will.”
“What does that have to do anything with what I just said? I don’t understand you…” Yuni felt beat, like she was fighting a battle without a cause. Her brother made no sense to her whatsoever. She rubbed her eyes, trying to figure out what to say next, when she heard her brother sigh deeply. 
“Do your friends know about your anxiety issues, Yuni? Tell me the truth please.” Their eyes met, and Yuni noticed sadness in his. She hesitated, looked down at her lap and mumbled an almost inaudible “No.”
“Why not? They are supposed to be your so called friends? Why don’t you just tell them,” Sihyun’s voice echoed through the living room.
“You don’t understand,” Yuni whispered; her mind was no longer filled with whispers, for the whispers had turned into shouting. Her whole body was shaking and the knot in her stomach made her cringe and put her arms around her waist.
“No, I don’t understand! This is why I’m barely talking to you! Why can’t you just be freaking normal for once?!”
Yuni’s mind went silent for a brief moment, before it was filled with the echoes of her brother’s last words. Why can’t you be normal for once? Why can’t you be freaking normal for once?
She stared blankly at the floor, unable to move. Sihyun growled in his rage and walked away from her, up the stairs. His heavy footsteps on the first floor broke the silence and the slamming of his door shocked Yuni.  She sat there for a while, letting the anxiety and panic tak