Suzy squinted and crossed her arms over her chest as Sehun hesitantly and slowly walked towards their direction. She was still staring at him when he formally bowed in front of her family and greeted, “Good afternoon. I’m Oh Sehun.”

“Good afternoon,” it was her mom who greeted back with a warm smile. “You must be tired from the journey. Please do come in.”

Sehun instantly flashed back a beam as he slowly nodded in reply but then a complaint slipped from Suzy’s lips, “Omma.”

Her voice was rather firm that it had halted everyone from going inside their house. Mrs. Bae looked back at her daughter, raised an eyebrow and asked, “Why?”

“This guy…” she started with a creased forehead, and it was supposed to be followed by ‘should not be here’ but then when she glanced at Sehun and saw his pleading eyes, she mumbled instead, “…is our new model in the company.”

“Hmmm,” Mrs. Bae nodded but the questioning look was still on her face, as if urging her to continue. However, when Suzy still didn’t add anything to what she has said, she asked instead, “Isn’t he with you?”

Suzy gazed at Sehun once more and the boy bit his lower lip at the question. Suzy also saw a slight hint of fear in his face before her gaze was met by his own, and the same look of plead was present. With no words said, they have come into an agreement.

“Yes. He’s with me,” Suzy said after a defeated sigh. She didn’t want to lie to her mother and she honestly wanted Sehun to explain right then and there, but then, everything that the boy has done for her flashed at the back of her mind. Apparently, the part of her brain that said that it was only proper to invite her saviour to her home, won.

“Then, let’s all go in,” her mom concluded and as all of them set foot in the place, she had also dispersed orders to the younger three, “Yugyeom, take Suzy’s things upstairs. Yerin and Jimin, go fix your sister’s room. I’m actually almost done preparing dinner.”

“I’ll help you mom,” Suzy tried to volunteer but she was immediately turned down by her mother as Mrs. Bae replied,

“No. Go sit there in the living room with your friend. You two must be tired.”

“Omma, I can even fix my room for myself,” she insisted but then her mother faked a glare at her, followed by a shake of the head in disapproval.

“Why don’t you sit there and just follow your mother’s orders? Hmmm?” Mrs. Bae said with an evident tone of their dialect.

Suzy smiled at her for faking anger just so they could treat her as a princess at home. She nodded in reply, and before she had seen Mrs. Bae go to the kitchen, she watched as she tapped Sehun’s shoulder, mumbling, “Feel at home.”

At the mention of the word ‘home’, Suzy took the time to have her eyes feast on the environment she was in. The old house was small, with only a few steps separating each division but it was noticeable how the living room took a big space of the small area, and Suzy’s lips curved into a small smile as memories of her and her siblings playing with her late father flashed right before her. Like an excited kid, she walked to the biggest sofa, climbed on it and reached for the window’s frame. The mix of dark blue and orange sky painted with slightly reddish clouds welcomed her sight and as she closed her eyes, she took a good amount of fresh air. Her bunny teeth showed as she let out a big and genuine smile upon the acknowledgement of being at a nostalgic place: Home.

She would have had stayed that way if not for the sudden small movement of the sofa and a pair of eyes she felt was staring at her. She slightly turned her head and peeked with one eye at the man who was also smiling brightly to himself. Suzy then opened both of her eyes and stared at Sehun questioningly before saying, “Yah. Are you laughing at me?”

“No,” he shook his head in reply. “It’s just that it’s refreshing, the view that is.”

“Hmmm,” Suzy hummed and nodded. “That’s the precise reason why my father has placed this big window here. He thought that we would love seeing the beauty of the sky and nature; I miss this. It’s a view that is so hard to see in a busy city.”

“Hmmm. I was actually pertaining to your smile,” Sehun said which make Suzy turn to the male again. He smiled, as if in amusement as he added, “I haven’t seen it for so long.”

“Tsss,” Suzy’s face turned into a blank expression before she glared at the boy saying, “You wouldn’t get me with those pick-up lines. You’re still gate-crashing right now. You should thank me.”

“Thank you,” Sehun replied within a split second.

Her lips curved into an almost unnoticeable smile before she properly sat on the sofa, now facing the rest of the first floor of the house. Sehun did the same, and there was a long silence between the two of them as both of them watched Mrs. Bae appear and disappear from the small door of the kitchen.

“So why are you here?” Suzy finally asked Sehun.

“I wanted to make sure that you would arrive safely at your home,” Sehun answered.

“I’m not a kid,” Suzy replied.

“I know. But the last time we left you alone, you attempted to do something stupid,” he retorted.

“I’m regretting it already so stop scolding me,” Suzy whispered as her gaze fell on the floor.

There was a short silence and Suzy could tell that Sehun’s eyes were already on her. However, she didn’t want to meet his gaze because the attempted suicide incident just made her feel ashamed of herself. Fortunately to her relief, Sehun took the iniative to redirect their conversation.

“Who’s that boy?” he asked.

“Who?” Suzy asked back but as she got what he was hinting, she asked again, “Yugyeom?”

“Yeah,” Sehun nodded.

“He’s the child of our neighbour. We’re technically childhood friends, but he’s best friends with both of my sisters,” Suzy answered. She glanced at him and noticed that his gaze was already on the floor, but it was as if there was another question lingering in his mind.

She saw him hesitate for a moment before asking, “Is he another rival?”

Suzy broke into a chuckle at his question, and Sehun could only stare at her in wonder, but then even before she could answer him, they were already interrupted by three distinct footsteps running downstairs and the three seventeen year olds appeared, panting. Shortly after, Mrs. Bae’s voice resonated in the house as she called,

 “Dinner’s ready!”

Seeing that the table was a little crowded because of two additional people, Mrs. Bae smiled to herself. At first, only the clanking of plates and utensils filled the air as all of them indulge at the finesse of Mrs. Bae’s cooking and the freshness of the food and the ingredients used. Suzy let out another beam as even her tongue could attest on how she was already home and how special the feeling was.

But then the silence was broken when Yerin asked, “Unni. Why is Myungsoo oppa not with you?”

When the gap between the answer and the question was proven to be too long, Mrs. Bae glanced at Suzy and saw how she became fidgety at the question. Just one glance, and her mother knew that there was something off with the mention of Myungsoo so she flashed a smile at Yerin and answered for Suzy, “Yerin-a, your oppa’s the CEO of his father’s family now. You can’t expect him to visit often. He’s really busy, I guess.”

“But he used to make time for us,”