Hana sipped her bubble tea through her straw. She peered curiously at Sehun who had taken to holding her hand saying she was tiny enough to get lost in the crowd. Hana disagreed. She wasn’t tiny! She was tall enough to be called ‘average.’ Sehun was the tall one, but she didn’t dare argue against him. He was holding her hand and she didn’t want to give him a reason to let go.

Sehun pursed his lips, he would have been furious if the calming effect of chocolate flavored milk tea. Where had his sister and Hana’s defiant-companion run off to?

Sehun grimaced and seated himself onto a bench. He refused to let his mood turn sour in the presence of bubble tea. After all, he’d waited a century and a half in the queue.

Sehun noticed a tiny hand clasped in his own.

“Sorry,” he muttered and released it from his grasp.

Hana shook her head to conceal her disappointment, warmth and security still lingered on her palm.

Sehun ignored thoughts that were calling for him to search for his lost sister. ‘Se Ryung is old enough to manage herself:’ Is what he’d believed until today, when she’d rung him in tears and a ghostly whisper, now he was worried.

Sehun knowingly refuted any claims of ‘seeing ghosts’ but he knew himself how frightening they could be. He’d never openly admitted that he could actually see the ghost of Miyoung, let alone hear her.

The ghost came to him differently each time, sometimes she was a refraction of light, sometimes a light mist but usually she was just a shimmering that could be confused for nothing. He never saw a person or an image of her but he was able to sense her.

The idea of his sister seeing a ghost unnerved him and therefore Sehun seldomly pretended the ghost wasn't real.

Hana sensed Sehun's eyes search the vicinity for his sister. She had never admitted to it but it made her jealous to see how close they both were. Of course they would be close, siblings were allowed to do that but it struck all the wrong cords within Hana. She didn’t hate Oh Se Ryung, not really, she admired her but the admiration had existed before they’d become friends. It was fading now that she knew the ‘real’ Se Ryung. The real Se Ryung was like any other girl her age albeit Se Ryung was blunt and lacked sense in using honorifics.

Sehun chewed the tapioca that had popped into his mouth, “How did you guys become friends?”

Hana swallowed to let the refreshing drink roll down before replying, “I don’t know, I guess, it all started the day I became an outcast.”

Sehun flinched almost biting his tongue as the ball of tapioca chose to enter his esophagus.

“My fault, sorry about that. I didn’t think far enough.” Sehun smacked his chest wishing the tapioca didn’t stay stuck in his esophagus forever.

Hana shrugged and reminisced about school, she hated school even more now that everyone hated her but she chose to remain positive, “I would have lost out on a good friend.”

Sehun sighed at her empty tone, it was something chocolate tea couldn’t cure, not even a triple-decker nutella sandwich could make up for the wrongs he’d spitefully done. Sehun scratched the back of his head sheepishly, something had to be done about the misunderstanding.

‘I’ll have to talk to them,’ Sehun thought, he his teeth at the thought of ‘them,’ they made chocolate taste bitter.

“I’ll make sure not to hang out with her, like you, I don’t want her to become victimized for paying attention to me. She’s like my little sister too.”

Sehun absorbed the genuine smile that had blossomed onto Hana’s face. Her countenance and the way she carried herself reminded Sehun of Rae Mi. It angered him to compare Rae Mi with someone else but Sehun felt Rae Mi's spirit in Hana, they were similar yet not.

Hana held her breath as Sehun’s fingers brushed against her cheek. She’d always envisioned him pushing a strand of hair behind her ears and smiled shyly, when he’d begun arranging hair that had fallen out of place.

“There,” he stated half smiling, when he was finished.

Hana bit back a big smile and stared at her cup. “You’re like Se Ryung."

Oh Sehun pretended to frown, “No, I’m not. I’m not a girl. Would you willingly get engaged to me if I were?”

Hana smiled quietly to herself and continued to stare at her cup, she was aware that he was looking at her and the sudden attention made her feel shy, she wasn't used to it.

"I was wondering, why did you suddenly decide to cut your hair?" Sehun asked giving her his undivided interest. He was eager to know why she'd undergone such a dramatic transformation.

"I wanted a change," Hana lied and combed her hair with her fingers, she was surprised that her fingers slipped through so quickly, it normally took longer to sweep her hair through her fingers. Hana smiled forcefully, her parents would be upset once they saw her short hair and they would be disappointed in her. Hana's smile faltered at the thought of her parents, 'It's not like you've ever met their expectations before, Hana. Forget them, remember, if you can get along with Sehun, they'll be pleased.'

"You don't look pleased with your change," Sehun teased, "Long hair suited you better," he continued to joke as he drank his tea. Sehun chuckled to himself as Hana shifted in her seat, feeling uneasy. Hana bit her lip, she'd spent her whole life trying to please parents who were never happy with what she did and now she would spend the rest of her life trying to please a husband who wouldn't be happy with her either.

"The hairdresser said I look nice," Hana pointed out, she turned her head and blinked as their eyes met. He had kind eyes, Hana had always believed that to be true, a certain warmth emanated from them and it made Hana feel safe and cozy. 

Sehun considered this and chuckled, “The hairdresser would because it’s her job.” He grinned triumphantly when Hana looked away unsurely.

“Does it look weird?” Hana asked earnestly, playing with her hair, “Is it really bad?” She clenched her jaw when Sehun nodded, “It’s really strange looking, you look like a boy now. How will you ever get married?”

Hana flinched and jumped off her seat. Her hand tightened around the plastic cup in her hand. She frowned at herself for conducting a dramatic change that didn’t suit her, ‘You look like a boy…’

The idea was enough for Hana’s stomach to churn. If Sehun didn’t like her hair then her parents would surely frown at her too. Hana sighed dejectedly and imagined the conversation that would take place once her parents returned to South Korea. She dragged her feet towards the bin and tossed her cup into it. Her stomach began to cramp at the earful she’d have to listen to.

Sehun arched his brow and grabbed the shopping bags that sat at his feet. He followed Hana from behind and watched her walk aimlessly.

“Woah there,” Sehun rolled his eyes and held her back before she could walk into a pillar. He chuckled at her absentmindedness.

Hana sniffed and held back her tears for as long as they could stay put. She stared at the hand that held her wrist and turned around to thank whoever had stopped her.

Sehun let the bags fall to the ground and groaned inwardly, ‘Why is she crying?’

Hana tried to pull her wrist away but her attempts only made him hold on tighter. Hana yanked her arm while tears rolled down her face, “Let go!” She begged, “Just leave me alone!”

Sehun pressed his lips together and released her. He shut his eyes tightly and listened to her fly back and hit the pillar.

Hana blinked as more hot tears rolled down her face. She wiped them quickly and ignored her burning back. She rubbed the back of her head gingerly and wished she could disappear through the pillar instead of having Oh Sehun look at her innocently. Hana averted her eyes and brushed past him hurriedly, ‘He did that on purpose.’

Sehun smirked and decided to follow her knowing she was embarrassed. He decided it would be fun to while he decided how to repay her for her help with the porcelain.

Hana flushed and ran a hand through her hair to push it out of her face. Her thoughts were with Sehun rather than where she was going. She bumped into a stall and tripped, taking a sheet of fabric and everything on it, down with her.

Sehun ruffled his hair in frustration, absent-minded Hana had managed to cause an accident! He groaned and helped her up, the owner of the stall was shouting mercilessly at the mess Hana had made.

Sehun bowed in apology and the owner’s angry outbursts became louder. Hana stood stunned, she stared at the mess at her feet and bit her lip. Broken pottery lay in shards of color, their jagged edges made Hana instinctively bring her bandaged hand towards her.

Hana listened to Sehun apologize for her through clenched teeth, she freed the arm he was holding and apologized for herself.

“Do you think your sorries will fix the damage you’ve caused?”

Hana looked toward the pottery again and lowered her head. “I’m really, really sorry. I didn’t look where I was going, I’m sorry!”

Sehun gritted his teeth as the owner yelled derogatory terms at them. “I’ll pay you back for all this!” Sehun offered pointing at the broken clay, “How much?”

The owner crossed his arms and glared at Sehun. “The damage costs over, 100,000 won. Can you really pay for it?”

Sehun matched the owner’s glare and nodded. He slipped his hand into his pocket and removed his gold Master Card. Hana cringed when her eyes landed on his card and the owner turned purple.

“Are you trying to be funny?”

Hana reached for her wallet and searched for cash but she wasn’t carrying more than the equivalent of fifty dollars, only receipts of her purchases came into her hands, feeling embarrassed she apologized again.

Sehun resisted the temptation to roll his eyes. “You don’t take card?” He asked looking for a card machine, his eyes flew to where the till was and he frowned when the owner said no.

“Let me just find an ATM then,” Sehun suggested trying to calm the owner down. Hana nodded meekly and hoped permission would be granted.

“How do I know you’re not going to run away?”

Hana furrowed her brows together at the concept of being branded a thief, she raised her head to look at the owner who was stirring a fuss. Her hands traveled back to her wallet and she counted how much she’d spent on clothes while Sehun tried to convince the owner they weren’t going to run away.

“100,000 won,” Hana counted and smiled to herself. She took her shopping bags from Sehun’s hands to look for the corresponding shopping.

“Here, if you return these, you’ll have 100,000 won,” Hana handed the receipts and bags to the frowning owner.

Hana smiled ruefully. ‘You tried to be clever and used cash to buy all that so your parents wouldn’t see the bill. Your intentions were wicked from the start, this is just karma.’

Sehun clenched his teeth and watched, he ran a hand through his hair feeling frustrated and was about to protest when Hana stopped him by pressing her foot onto his slowly. She shook her head and gave him a smile indicating they should leave. Sehun rolled his eyes, the owner was too stunned by his luck to notice them disappear, which made Sehun wonder how much the broken clay really cost. He shook his head once again and sighed, “You didn’t need to do that.”

Hana shrugged and rubbed her arm to ease the goose-bumps that had arisen from being too close to him. “He wasn’t going to let us go.”

“He lied about the money,” Sehun scoffed feeling cheated although he hadn’t spent a dime. His mind pinned him to feel guilt, “I ruined your shopping trip, again.”

Hana chuckled at his desolate words. “It doesn’t matter, I’m just glad we became a bit closer.”

Sehun recoiled at her words and cleared his throat. “What’s that meant to mean?”

Hana turned away from his kind brown eyes and chose to look elsewhere. She played with her feet but even that couldn’t stop her from feeling dirty. “I’m sorry…” She finally spoke and locked eyes with him courageously, “I tried doing something, that I shouldn’t have.”

Sehun furrowed his brows, he detected remorse and sincerity along with glum but didn’t understand the implications behind it. He opened his mouth to speak but was at a loss of words at the sudden change in her persona.

Hana smiled at his lost expression. Her fingers tightened around the bags in her hands, they weighted heavy in her heart, she felt a burden on her shoulders, it was heavier than the usual burdens she carried. She knew he would instantly dislike her if she told him the truth, ‘I was going to use your feelings, for someone else, for my own advantage. I didn’t think far enough, I didn’t know, that you would turn out to be a good person. The rumors about you are wrong. I won’t believe in them anymore. I won’t try to force myself into your heart either. If I told you, I wanted to become Rae Mi, what would you think of me? I really want to know…’

“I think I’ll return the rest of these too,” Hana feigned a smile, she felt conflicted in her actions and thoughts. On one hand she wanted him to acknowledge her and then on the flip side she didn’t want to live her life as someone she wasn’t.

She’d always hated pretenses, but she’d always been made to live them anyway. They burdened her, and made her hate herself. She really hated herself for dragging someone else into her world of lies.

“Why?” Sehun asked. His head ran through possibilities, but ran short when it came to the meaning behind her words. He’d compared Hana to his sister more than once, but he’d been wrong in doing so. He could read his sister like an open book, he could read most people too but she was much more difficult to master. It baffled him to know he couldn’t read her actions or words.

Hana took a deep breath. She could feel the world closing up inside her. She shook her head and blinked rapidly, ‘Air!’

Hana dropped her shopping and reached for her purse. Her hands faltered at the zip. ‘I can’t let anyone find out!’

Hana squeezed her eyes shut and bolted towards the exit. ‘You can’t stop breathing now, Hana!’

Hana struggled to open the door and ventured outside. A smog of tobacco hit her, making her splutter. She cursed under her breath and reached for her bag again.

Sehun cursed louder than he meant to and gained more attention than he liked. He ignored the stares and moved mechanically. He’d found Hana strange and didn’t realize what she was trying to do until he’d followed her out. She’d coughed and wheezed and tried to look for something. Then a term struck him!

Sehun continued to curse as useless information flooded his brain. He held her carefully and avoided her pained expression. She tried to push him away but her lack of strength prevented what she hoped to accomplish.

Hana’s mind screamed with urgency. She strained her lungs to breathe.

“Here,” Sehun shook the inhaler and brought it to hoping she was still conscious enough to know what she had to do. He pressed button and listened to the puff of air enter . Her grip on his arms relaxed and shocked tears raced down her cheeks.

Sehun replaced the inhaler back into her bag and stared at her. His heart drummed violently against his chest. Somewhere in the back of his mind an automated reaction began to play, he began to her hair soothingly and murmur words of encouragement until she grasped her surroundings.

Hana looked up at him with quivering eyes. She gasped at the closeness but Sehun was patient and understanding. “Feeling better?” He asked and wiped her tears with a brush of his fingers. Hana felt it again, the impulse to become his ideal type, the impulse was overwhelming and resulted in more conflicted tears.

“Why?” Hana whispered and coughed as the bitter smell of tobacco reached her lungs. She made a face and instinctively covered her nose.

“Let’s get away from here first,” Sehun suggested. Hana let him lead her away from the polluted air that threatened to close her lungs. She recalled being told to keep her illness a secret, bronchitis was never taken well by others. It was a term that brought with it a wave of pity and condolence. Her parents hated it, and Hana understood why when Sehun’s eyes reflected pity.

Hana unwillingly freed herself from his hold, he’d been guiding her away with great care as if she were a patient who would suddenly collapse if he didn’t help her.

“Asthma,” Sehun spoke and shook his head as if not believing what his mind was conjuring. He took another look at her and wondered why she was so similar to Yoon Rae Mi, Hana now had two things in common with her.

Hana twitched at the term he’d chosen to speak aloud. “You can’t tell anyone,” she pleaded. The thought of it being revealed to other people made her stomach lurch. “Mine’s not that bad,” she added trying to ease the intensity of his eyes. Hana felt as if they were searching the depths of her soul to uncover something.

“You don’t want me to tell anyone either?” Sehun chuckled at the déjà vu phrases that were leaving . ‘How can they be so similar?’

Sehun felt his heart begin to drum again, but this time it didn’t beat in fear. This time it beat in confusion.

“Not even Se Ryung!” Hana told him, she wished he wouldn’t share the information. She didn’t mean to have an attack in front of him but now that he knew there was a reason to break the engagement.

“It’s none of my business,” Sehun replied sliding his hands into his pockets.

“You don’t mind?” Hana asked curiously, her parents did mind. They had been stern when they’d told her not to share her lung problem with anyone, they were worried that her engagement wouldn’t last long once Sehun or his parents found out. After all, no one wanted a sick wife and daughter-in-law.

“Mind what?” Sehun asked, the conversation had deviated off track. Hana’s words were changing course from Rae Mi’s. Sehun was thankful for that. Speaking metaphorically, he’d also felt the air being out of him when he felt déjà vu. The idea made him vulnerable because his mind was thrown into disarray.

Hana took a deep breath and watched him carefully. He was still recovering from her episode. She smiled knowing he would probably never understand her words.

“You don’t mind, that your fiancée’s health… Is like this?”

A flash of annoyance graced Sehun’s features, he furrowed his brows at her question and seemed outraged by it. Hana took a step back knowing Sehun didn’t understand how she felt.

He’d managed to win her heart in the small amount of time they’d spent together, he’d also told her not to ‘fall in love’ with him but she’d done so anyway. His small caring gestures made her heart pound and when he went out of his way to do something for her, her heart melted.

“There’s nothing wrong with your health!” Sehun stated stubbornly.
 

**Flashback**

“I don’t like being sick like this… I haven’t told oppa yet. You better not tell him anything or else I’ll never speak to you again.”

Sehun looked up at her with confusions written on his face, “You’re not sick, noona, there’s nothing wrong with you.”

Rae Mi shook her head and hugged herself. “Something is wrong with me… You don’t think there’s anything wrong with bronchitis? It’s the sort of thing that can kill people.”

The morbid thought made Sehun flinch. He stared at her and savored her continence. “I’ll never let anything happen to you! I’ll prove to you that there’s nothing to worry about!”

Rae Mi chuckled quietly and ruffled his hair. “My cute dongsaeng, I have no doubt that you’d run to my aid but I’m worried about what oppa will think once he finds out.”

Sehun made a face and began to fix his hair. He hated the word ‘dongsaeng’ more than anything in the world. “I would still marry you, noona, even if you have asthma.”

-

“What are you afraid of anyway? Do you think people won’t accept you because of that? Is that in your control? Did you choose to have it?

“It’s not your fault, don’t worry about things that are out of your control. How can you live life, worrying about things like that?” Sehun was angry, he didn’t like having his memories flash in his mind. He stared at Hana who was avoiding his eyes, his tone had been harsher than he intended.

“I’m not someone who will use something like asthma against you,” Sehun confided, he was proud of his words because he could have sworn Hana smiled for a brief second.

Hana drew small circles with her feet. She wanted to tell him everything that bothered her but she kept silent but she didn’t want him to fall back once he found out how she felt about him. He would try to run away from her and the thought scared her. Hana had never ‘wanted’ anything particular in her life before, be it clothes, accessories, a car or a house but at that very moment she decided she wanted Oh Sehun’s love.

“Really? Even if you could use it to your advantage?” Hana asked carefully. She avoided putting ideas in his head because her heart was afraid he might really break off the engagement.

Sehun scowled at the idea. He glared at her for even thinking of such a thing. It was derogatory to his character. “That’s a cowardly thing to do.”

Hana smiled and nodded. She was glad he would keep her secret safe with him. If he did, she wouldn’t have to confront her parents about it. A weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

“Then… Say, if you plan to cancel our marriage doesn’t work… If we end up getting married. Would you still be… As kind to me, as you are now?”

Sehun tilted his head and tapped his chin. He was taken aback by her question. He’d never thought of a scene where they would be married but given the present mindset of their parents it looked like things would be headed that way. Sehun growled softly to himself as he recalled Tao. Tao was strangely close to Hana while trying to attach himself to Se Ryung. Sehun decided he didn’t like Tao with either of them.

“If all else fails, then we wont have another choice.”

Hana sighed in relief he’d just ‘okayed’ their relationship for when it needed to blossom.

“Yah!” Sehun protested all of a sudden, “Aren’t you smiling too much?”

Hana covered with her hand and stared back at him innocently before she broke into a laugh.

“I was thinking, it wouldn’t be bad to have such a kind husband.” Hana pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and watched Sehun clear his throat bashfully.

“Look at all this shopping! We’ll be living in a homeless shelter if you keep this up! Two bags were 100,000 won? Pfft, marriage won’t happen.” Sehun stalked away waving his hand dismissively. He waited for Hana to catch up to him.

“How do you plan to stop it?” Hana wondered aloud. Their parents were far too excited about the prospect of joining families, knowing them they would never stop the ordeal. Although Sehun had approximately four to five years to cancel the marriage. There was no guarantee that their parents couldn't drop a bomb over their heads and say it was tomorrow. The couple were at the mercy of their parents. Hana's parents had gone one step further and had handed her an assignment – seduce Sehun. However it was obvious that Sehun would ask for her help in stopping the event. She was stuck either way and had no great opinion. Even so, Hana was curious about Sehun’s plans. This plan needed to be fool proof enough to convince their parents that joining families was a bad idea. How would he do it was the biggest question.

“That’s simple. They just need to have big disagreement, big enough for them to abandon their little project.” Sehun muttered darkly. He was rather pleased with himself for planning on the spot and he was right in thinking that a fight between the families would be enough to roughen their relations.

“How will you do that?” Hana tried to think of ways the families could offend each other but none came to mind.

“The easiest way is for Hana to fall in love,” Sehun teased but there was hope hidden behind his joking tone. He imagined that if Hana fell in love with someone else there would be no marriage at all.

Hana stopped in her tracks. Tao’s name clicked in her head and she grimaced at having to seek for his help. He would definitely first. “Think of something else. My parents will hate me for ruining their plans.”

Sehun laughed. “How can our parents be so similar?”

Hana pressed her lips together and wondered why they needed to stop their wedding. Stopping it posed more problems than going along with it. She and Sehun were getting alone. Why fix something that wasn't broken?

“Do you think we’d enjoy married live?” Hana asked all of a sudden. She turned to Sehun and wished she’d held her tongue because his expression had darkened.

“I never want to get married,” Sehun explained in a strained tone. He didn’t want to explain his reasons to her because she was a stranger and she could never understand his feelings, especially not when his sister was unable to do so.

“Oh Se Ryung,” Sehun spat her name and suddenly understood things he wished he was oblivious knowing. His eyes flew to Hana’s short hair and he smirked. Pieces of a jigsaw fell into place and he saw what had been hidden from him. Just one look and he now knew the gist of what had been conspired behind his back including the blue-print and the perpetrator. ‘So this was your idea, Oh Se Ryung? Do you think I wouldn’t figure it out?’

Sehun felt betrayed by his sister. He’d spent his time lamenting the effect Miyoung’s death had on Se Ryung yet she’d gone ahead and used him. How was it that she didn't understand him? Hadn't she seen similar days to him? She should have been more understanding of his standing. He'd always cared which path he'd tread on but his sister was reckless. She was aware of how Sehun felt about Rae Mi but even then she'd gone ahead to do as she wished without taking his thoughts and feelings into consideration.

“Why did you cut your hair?” Sehun asked praying his suspicions were a fabrication of his imagination brought about by a coincidence. He didn’t want to make an enemy out of his sister. He didn’t want to believe that she was a traitor because he’d spent most of his life thinking that she was the only comrade he had in this world. There was only one person he turned to for consolation. He needed to trust that person. Right now, that bridge of trust was oscillating dangerously. Se Ryung knew everything about him. She knew the meaning behind his smallest actions. She knew how susceptible he was when it came to Yoon Rae Mi.

 “Did you join hands with Oh Se Ryung to try and seduce me?” Sehun remained stiff when Hana’s expression wavered.

“That’s all I need to know,” Sehun muttered handing Hana her shopping bags. He examined her one last time. ‘You are either very stupid or very deadly, Kim Hana. I’ll find out which it is. And if you think I’ll marry you, you’re out of your mind.’