“Wake up, Jin Hye!” Sehun repeatedly called, trying to wake up his sister who was thrashing badly on her bed. Jin Hye opened her eyes with a jolt, cold sweat dripping down her face, or maybe it was tears.

This was the sixth time in the week that Sehun had woken up to hear Jinhye shouting in her sleep. It was a relief that their parents’ room were further away so they did not hear anything and did not have to worry. Sehun hugged JinHye tightly, feeling her trembling body and her weak grasp on him.

“Tell me, what kind of nightmare was that? This is the sixth time already! I’m worried for you!” Sehun glanced at JinHye worriedly.

“I dreamt someone was holding onto my hand tightly, pulling me towards a door. I kept stumbling and I lost grip of the person who was holding onto me. I tried to catch up but the person just gets further and further away. I kept shouting, shouting for the person to wait. And then, I felt a hands around my neck, gripping tightly.” JinHye choked, as if feeling the sensation of being strangled.

No words could come out of Sehun’s mouth to comfort her, only repeatedly telling JinHye that it was just a dream. It ached his heart to see his little sister so vulnerable and frightened. “I’m not going to leave your side, I promise.”

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“Happy Birthday, JinHye-ah! Please be more intellectual like me!” I.M attacked JinHye as soon as she reached her lockers. Jin Hye had honestly forgotten about her birthday, no thanks to all the homework and recurring nightmares she was having. It wasn’t until the morning when her mum had cooked her favourite scrambled eggs and bacons and wished her then she remembered. Jin Hye’s dad had left for work but he did not forget to leave his wishes. Her parents gave her a charming set of earrings while Sehun had gifted her with a dream catcher, “I hope it will catch away the nightmare you’ve been having. I love you, little sister!”

“Here, the bracelet that you’ve been eyeing every time we walked past the jewelry shop!” IM shoved a paper bag in front of JinHye, jolting her out of her thoughts. “You bought it for me? You’re the best!” JinHye gave IM a hug, happy that he had noticed what she wanted. “Hey! I’m supposed to be the best!” shouted Hyemi who had came running towards both of them, “My present is coming later so just be at our favourite bingsoo shop at 7pm tonight!”

-----------------

Stifling a yawn , JinHye looked at her watch when the librarian announced that the library was closing in 15 minutes. Jin Hye got up with a jolt when she realised it was 6.15pm and she was going to be late to meet Hyemi if she do not leave now.  She quickly gathered her books and rushed to her lockers to shove them in. When she opened her locker, a letter fell out from it. Jin Hye picked them up and not finding anything written on it, just shoved it in her bag to read when she goes home later. When she was finished, Jin Hye quickly rushed out of school to the shop.
 

“I’m so sorry, Hyemi! I lost track of time!” JinHye apologised profusely when she rushed to the usual table that they always occupied. Suddenly, JinHye skidded to a stop and her jaws dropped. Sitting at the tables on both sides were her brother and his friends. A couple of Jin Hye’s good friends were also there. That didn’t really matter, because what only processed in her mind was that SeungCheol and his friends were there. JinHye could feel blood slowly rushing up her head and quickly took a breath to calm her heart.

Jin Hye’s POV

“Seungil Chukahamnida!” Everybody sang the birthday song to me, and I could have sworn my face must be glowing so brightly that not even the candles could outmatch it. I was especially happy that SeungCheol was there. We dug into the cake and bingsoo that we ordered, being embarrassed as Sehun oppa shared about the things I did when I was younger.

"Aren't you amazed at my ability to invite them here?" Hyemi gushed to me when we got up to refill our water. 

"How did you even do it!"

"Well, I'm friends with Joshua from our extra curriculum activities, and he was always saying how they love celebrations. So I casually mentioned that I was surprising you and how it would nice to have even more people. And there, done."

"Thanks hyemi, you're seriously amazing." I hugged her tightly.

“Hey, I got this keychain for you. I hope you like it.” I turned to my right and realised it was SeungCheol. He was holding to a really pretty unicorn keychain which I grabbed excitedly.

 “Gomawo! I really like unicorns!” I exclaimed, giving him a bright smile. SeungCheol gave a relief smile and gave me a thumbs up. That’s when I noticed the ring on his finger and found it really familiar. “Oh, I have the same ring as you!” I exclaimed at the realisation that the ring hanging on my necklace was the exact same one.

Seungcheol gave me a puzzled look, and said, “That’s weird, this ring was given to me by parents, and they claimed it solely belongs to my family.”

“I never knew how I got the ring too, it was found on me when my parents found me on their doorstep.” I shared with him, smiling slightly when I saw Seungcheol looking surprised, “Yeah, my real parents abandoned me when I was 6. I could not remember anything before that.”

“You know, I lost my family in a fire too. The firefighters told me my parents and sister perished in the fire. They sent me to an orphanage for a year before my grandmother who lived in the countryside got hold of the news and came to get me. She took me in, sent me to school. I came here when I was 14 because the countryside just didn’t felt like home.” Seungcheol shared with me, looking teary. “I shouldn’t have been alive. If I had not gone to play with my neighbours and stayed for dinner, I would have perished too.”

I could feel my eyes watering, and held back my tears, telling him, “I’m sure your parents would never want you to feel like that, they must be feeling proud of you now.” Seungcheol gave me a grateful smile, “My sister would be the same age as you if she were still alive. She was always fond of learning, that’s why I went to school after a year when my grandmother took me in. I'm 19 this year actually. You remind me of her you know, I really treat you as a sister.”

"I'm sure your sister would be happy to see you being happy, especially with your group of friends. 

I beamed at his words, happy he was living his life fully. I should be heartbroken at the fact that he only saw me like a younger sister But, all I felt was warm feeling in me. Was I not in love with him? Inwardly, I was so confused over my feelings. I looked wistfully at him as he laughed at something funny Chanyeol had said.

What I didn’t realised was, someone else was looking at me the same way.