“Woo Ji Ho! Umma is back from the hospital, come greet her.”

 

“No!”

 

“Don’t you want to meet your new sister?”

 

“No!” He said this, and yet Ji Ho skeptically poked his head out his bedroom door. Seeing his mother laying on the couch, smiling at him, a grin suddenly spread across his small face. He ran up to hug her, but came to a sudden halt when he saw the small being crying in her arms. At this, his faced soured again. Already the little brat was causing him trouble.

 

Balling up his fists, he stuck his tongue out at the small figure then ran back to his room, ignoring his mother’s faint calls and his father’s nervous chuckles.

 

...

 

Dinner was set on the table, yet Woo Ji Ho was nowhere to be found. Mrs. Woo furrowed her brow in concern, realizing the one place she had yet to check for him.

 

Opening the door to the baby’s room, Mrs. Woo held back a gasp, smiling to herself. Ji Ho was leaned over his sister’s crib, her small, newborn hands encompassing one of his chubby fingers as she looked up at her oppa with wide eyes. Woo Ji Ho stood there and grinning like a mad man, looking like the proudest brother in the world.

 

Mrs. Woo crept slowly out the room and back to the kitchen where her husband was waiting. He raised an eyebrow at her and she just shrugged.

 

“Ya, Ji Ho! It’s time for dinner!”

 

...

 

“I’m home!” Woo Chae Won shouted as she slammed the door shut, dropping her school bag before dashing to her room.

 

It was the last day of her junior year of high school, and it was finally over. She was grinning widely at the thought, just about to enter her room when she was intercepted by her mother.

 

“Not so fast sweetie! Appa and I have some good news for you.”

 

At this, Chae Won pulled a face, not sure she liked the sound of that.

 

“You’re not pregnant, are you? Please tell me-”

 

“No, I’m not pregnant! Don’t say things like that. Come to the kitchen, I’ve made cookies. We’ll tell you there.”

 

Her mother’s grin unfaltered, Chae Won followed her skeptically, drawn by the promise of cookies. As she settled down and commenced stuffing her face, her father spoke.

 

“Since you were complaining about having nothing to do over the summer, we’ve arranged for you to attend a summer course in Seoul. You’re leaving tomorrow afternoon, so I suggest you get packed.”

 

Chae Won stared at her father, looking for some sign he was kidding, but he remained stone-faced. Her eyes widened in fear.

 

“Hey, I wasn’t complaining! That was bragging! And now I have to commute to Seoul every day just to spend my summer studying?” Before she could finish her rant, her mother’s laughter cut her off.

 

“Tell her the rest, sweetie,” her mother encouraged, putting a hand on her husband’s shoulder. Finally, he cracked a grin.

 

“Your won’t have to commute everyday. That’s because you’ll be staying with Ji Ho in his apartment, and the course is only three days a week. It will be at his university, in fact. The rest you can spend however you want. Your don’t have to thank us, but... you’re welcome.”

 

Chae Won felt a blush spreading across her face, and her wide grin returned. After thanking her parents profusely, she rushed to her room and slammed the door shut. Leaping onto her bed, she squealed. A whole summer in the city, and, best of all, reunited with her oppa. As that thought crossed her mind, she blushed again, feeling embarrassed by her own excitement.

 

Ya, Woo Chae Won! It’s just your stupid, mental brother; keep it together!

 

She slapped her cheeks, then focused all her attention on packing.

 

Still, a lot can happen over the course of one summer.

 

...

 

Stepping off the train, Chae Won scanned the area for his familiar face. Walking slowly around the platform, she ran a hand through her long, straight hair and sighed. Had that idiot forgotten to come pick her up?

 

Immediately after this though arrived in her head, she saw him. Woo Ji Ho, or Zico, as he was known to friends. He was leaning against the wall with his earbuds in, spacing out while doing a silly little dance.

 

Time to mess with Oppa...

 

Chae Won smirked. Dropping her luggage, she ran full throttle towards her unsuspecting brother.

 

“Oppaaaaaa~” she squealed loudly, utilizing her very best aegyo skills, making sure to catch the attention of everyone in the station. Zico only had a second’s notice, eyes widening to the size of saucers as she pounced on him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I missed you soooo much. You should call more often!”

 

Having achieved her goal of thorough embarrassment and the attention of many a passerby, Chae Won laughed as her brother placed his large hand on her forehead, pushing her away. He stared her straight in the eyes for a moment, and she felt the heat rise to her face. Then, he stuck out his tongue and started walking toward her bags.

 

“Hey, it’s been months and I don’t even get so much as a hello?”

 

Zico stopped walking and leaned his head back.

 

“Chae Wonnie, Oppa loves you~! Now let’s go home.” He said this in his best attempt at aegyo, sounding, more than anything, like Elmo from Sesame Street. Puffing out his cheeks, he flashed a peace sign at her, and Chae Won couldn’t help but laugh.

 

“I really did miss you, oppa.”

 

He just snorted.

 

“What, do you have some kind of oppa complex or something? Let’s just go.”

 

...

 

Zico’s apartment was a small one in an area of Seoul highly populated by students. It had two bedrooms, but, to Chae Won’s horror, a single bathroom. It was relatively plain, and surprisingly clean as well.  

 

Entering the room declared as hers, Chae Won began unpacking. It was relatively late when she arrived in Seoul, so it was already dark out and she had eaten her dinner on the train. She finished unpacking and headed to the bathroom to wash her face before bed.

 

As she stood at the sink, the bathroom door creaked open. Yet another flaw with this rooming system; the single bathroom had a freaking broken lock.

 

Zico ambled in, looking uncharacteristically serious. Coming up behind Chae Won, he hugged her, resting his head on her shoulder and looking into her eyes through the bathroom mirror.

 

“I’m going to bed now, so goodnight. And, by the way... I missed you too.”