Days passed after that impromptu adventure around Seoul. Let's just say after I saw Daniel with that lady, my mind drifted off and I didn't really notice where we were heading to. But as time flew, I gradually forgot about that incident -- I was back to being myself.

"Sweetie could you come down for a moment?" Mom called from the dining table below. It must be something important since she rarely calls me down. Hopping down the stairs, I sensed a tense atmosphere. Dad was at the table too, looking solemn and serious. When I sat down, I saw Mom's swollen eyes. That scared me. She's a cheerful woman who was rarely down or angry.

"Honey, Chaejin's gonna be living with us from now on, would you help me prepare the spare room for him? He'll be arriving tomorrow." Mom started speaking. "But Mom, why is Chaejin staying with us? Shouldn't he be at home? His school isn't near our house either.." I scratched my head in confusion. Just then, she started sobbing. I stared at her in shock because of her random outburst, while Dad answered for her. "Your aunt... Chaejinnie's mom.. she passed away." He rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration while I tried to digest all the information that was given to me. My aunt... gone? Forever? I couldn't believe it. How is Jin coping now? Is he fine? Tears welled up in my eyes at the thought of the loss of a loved one. A very precious one indeed. She was always my favourite aunt, doting on me and spoiling me with all the candy treats when I was little. When I got to my teenage years, she got a divorce with Chaejin's dad because he ill-treated her. From then on, I only heard from her once or twice a month, and seeing her became an extremely rare opportunity. But now.. she's gone.

Dad stood up and held Mom, guiding her towards the bedroom, giving me some time alone. For the next half and hour I sat there staring at the table with my mind being as empty as a blank sheet of paper. Snapping out of my stupor, I ran upstairs, got changed into a tee shirt and skinny jeans, bunned up my hair and ran downstairs to put on my shoes. I had to see Chaejin. He must be so depressed now. Locking the door behind me, I grabbed my skateboard from my porch and skated as fast as I could to his house.

"CHAEJIN AH!!! OPEN THE DOOR! IT'S ME, NOONA!" I shouted as I bang his door in panic. Tears started to fall when he didn't answer to my calls. "Jin.. please. Open the door. Noona's begging you." I sobbed as my shouts gradually turned into desperate and muffled cries. Finally the door opened, revealing a haggard Chaejin. His eyes were swollen, his nose was red and he had looked slimmer. "Jin ah." I gasped as I hugged him. He bent down and burried his head into my shoulder, starting to cry again. I his head and comforted him, saying everything's fine and noona's here, don't be scared. We stood there for who knows how long, both of us crying. 

He finally raised his head, and my heart dropped when I saw his empty eyes. He was lost. Taking his cheeks in my hands, I rubbed them and tried to force out a smile even with my crying face. He stepped aside to let me into his house as he closed the door. Sitting down on his couch, I looked around the house. Everything was already packed in cartons. He took a seat next to me as I looked at how my favourite cousin, that was as close to me as a brother, had turned into such a worn out person.

"Noona." his voice came out a little shaky while he stares at his hands. "She's gone noona. Umma's gone. What am I supposed to do now?" he asked me, voice filled with sorrow. Looking at his poor little figure made me emotional. Taking a deep breath, I told him how his mom wouldn't be happy seeing him like this from above, and every ending is a new beginning. We sat there as I tried to say some encouraging words now and then so that the silence wouldn't swallow us up. 

"I'll be back okay?" I said as I stood up, grabbed his keys and made my way out of his apartment. I skated to the nearest food store and ordered Chinese takeout, hoping it'd cheer him up a little since he enjoyed eating Chinese food. I rushed back to his apartment since it was getting dark and realised that I'd been at his house for more than 4 hours since it was almost 7pm already.

"Jin, noona bought you dinner. Make sure you eat it eo~" I instructed him while faking an angry expression and putting my hands on my hips. He looked up at me and smiled a small one. "Noona's the best" he said as he held out his thumb. He had always been doing that since young whenever I bought him something while beaming at me, but this time it was just a faint smile, not even a slight trace of his pearly-whites. Ruffling his hair a little, I told him I had to go and I'd pick him up tomorrow morning. With that, I left with a heavy heart, worrying about that kid.

Sighing a huge one, I made my way back home.