After dinner, Lia went to sit down on the sofa. Ji Yong came up to her. Instead of sitting next to her, he laid his head on her thigh. She smiled, his hair.

“Sing me a song,” he asked. “Any song as long as it’s a song.”

“You’re so demanding,” she said to him affectionately. She began singing in a sweet melody. Ji Yong closed his eyes, listening to her voice.

When the song ended, he opened his eyes and smiled. He turned around until he was on his stomach. He leaned down and kissed her bare thighs, and she giggled. “Ji Oppa . . .”

TOP frowned. “Ji Yong,” he said warningly. “Mei is only seventeen years old. I know you guys are together, but please behave yourself.”

Lia, unseen by him, rolled her eyes. She turned back to her twenty-two year old boy-friend. “Can we watch a movie?” she asked. “We can watch it in your room, on my laptop. That way we can lie down and watch at the same time.”

He nodded, sitting up. “I’ll get the snacks,” he said, pulling her up.

“I’ll get the movie and my laptop,” she said. She ran to her room.

TOP studied Ji Yong warily as he searched through the cupboard for snacks. “What are you guys watching?” he asked.

Tae Yang, Dae Sung and Seung backed away. When TOP is in that mood, it’s best to stay away.

Ji Yong shrugged. “Knowing your sister, a romance movie,” he replied. He took out a bag of chips. “Aha!” He started to go to his room.

But TOP grabbed him back by the arm. “Get rid of whatever ual thoughts you are thinking of my sister right now,” he said sternly.

Ji Yong blinked, surprised. “TOP hyung, I wasn’t thinking of any ual thoughts of Lia.”

But TOP didn’t believe him. “Ji Yong, I know that you care a lot about my sister but she’s seventeen.”

Ji Yong scoffed, shrugging his hands off. “I haven’t done anything to her, and I won’t be doing that tonight,” he said. “I’m just watching a movie with her. I know she’s underage. I’m not stupid, okay?” With a huff, he walked to his room.

Lia came out and walked to Ji Yong’s room, carrying her laptop and a movie called Juno. She came to the four boys and gave them their nightly goodnight kiss.

“Mei, be careful,” TOP told her.

Lia frowned. “Oppa, we’re watching a movie, not having ,” she pointed out. She hurried to Ji Yong’s room before he could say anything more.

TOP turned to the others, who had shrunk back in a corner. “What the hell just happened here?” he asked exasperatedly.

Tae Yang shrugged. “I think that they are telling the truth when they said they weren’t doing anything.”

Dae Sung nodded. “They wouldn’t have gotten irritated if they weren’t,” he agreed.

Seung Ri kept quiet, remembering what he had witnessed earlier. From the looks of it, it doesn’t matter whether they were telling the truth or not. It’s most likely that they might just end up doing it without planning.

TOP just shook his head. “I’m not going to my room until I see Lia coming out of his room,” he declared. He looked at the clock. “It’s eight now. By the time the movie ends, it should be ten-thirty to eleven. I’ll give her that much time to come out.” He sat in front of the television in the living room and switched it on, turning to the sports channel.

Dae Sung and Tae Yang exchanged glances. TOP is really protective of Lia, isn’t he?

Seung Ri just sighed. He knew he should probably tell TOP about what he’d saw earlier, but somehow he couldn’t seem to bring himself to tell him.

 He didn’t want to hurt Lia.

In the middle of the movie, Ji Yong kissed her and she responded. They ended up rolling and laughing, kissing each other. After a few minutes, Lia pulled away. “We’re watching a movie,” she said.

He pouted but kept quiet as they watched the show. He put his arms around her. “My sweet Lia,” he whispered.

“Shhh,” she said, her eyes transfixed on the screen. “This is getting to the good part.”

He chuckled.

When the movie ended, Lia turned her full attention to him. She practically threw herself on him. He was taken aback by surprised, but he liked this so he kissed her back. “What’s with the sudden attacks?” he asked between kisses.

“I don’t know, I just felt like doing this,” she replied.

“Want to sit on the rooftop?” he asked.

She nodded and they walked out to the rooftop, the spot where they first had their first date. She smiled, sitting in between of him, his legs spread out wide and his arms wrapped around her. She leaned back in his chest as she gazed up to the stars.

“Tell me a story,” she said.

Ji Yong began telling her a story. He told her of a prince who was looking for a princess to marry for true love. All the princesses he went to meet didn’t match his standards. But he never gave up, despite his father’s mockeries. He knew true love existed and he was determined to prove his father wrong.

One day, on his way to a nearby town, he stopped to rest at a farm. There, he fell in love with the farmer’s daughter and decided to marry her. But the king disapproved of her, threatening to disown the prince if he marries her. The prince went ahead and married her away. He got disowned, but he didn’t care. As long as he and the girl were together, that’s all that matters.

But eventually the king missed his son and finally accepted the girl as his daughter-in-law. So the prince and the girl moved back to the palace, where the prince got his hereditary back and the girl became a princess.

“That was a beautiful story,” Lia said when he was done.

“It is.”

Lia sighed. “I should go back to my room now,” she said reluctantly. “Oppa is probably outside in the living room, waiting for me to come out. If I don’t go back now, he might come in and get me.”

Ji Yong sighed. “Your brother is irritating,” he grumbled. “Don’t get me wrong; I like him and I respect him but . . .”

Lia nodded. “I’m with you on this one,” she said, climbing back in. She kissed him one last time before walking out of the room with her laptop under her arms. She wasn’t the least surprised to see TOP sitting outside.

“Movie was good,” she said as he opened his mouth to speak. “Then later we went out to the rooftop and he told me a story. That’s it.”

“Jun Mei . . .”

“Goodnight, oppa.”

“No goodnight kiss?” he asked, hurt.

Lia turned back to see that her brother was hurt. She felt bad. She placed her laptop on the kitchen counter and rushed to him, throwing her arms around him and giving him a tight hug. “Saranghaeyo, bingu oppa,” she said to him. “Please believe me when I say that there is nothing like that going on between me and Ji Oppa. He treats me like a queen, oppa. Besides, we’ve already had this conversation before. He said he won’t force me.”

TOP nodded, but he still felt a bit unsure. “Okay, I believe you,” he said even though he didn’t.

Lia kissed his cheeks and smiled before turning to her room.

The next morning, TOP woke up. He turned and saw that it was seven. He looked out of the window and saw that it was a nice day. Hmm, maybe I should take a walk with my sister, he thought. He knew how much Lia loves to take a morning walk. He got out of bed and walked out to his sister’s room. He knocked softly. “Mei?”

There was no answer.

He pushed the door opened and saw that the room was empty and her bed was made. “I guess she already left for her morning walk,” he mumbled to himself. He sighed, shoving his hands into his hoodie pockets. He yawned, deciding to go back to sleep instead.

When the right time came, everyone woke up. They went to YG Entertainment while Lia did chores again. TOP noticed how Ji Yong seemed to always call her on their breaks and would always be reluctant to hang up.

They only had morning stuff to do so for the rest of the day they were free. The moment their shift ended, Ji Yong rushed back to the apartment, leaving the others still back at YG Entertainment.

“Where’s the hurry?” Dae Sung asked as Ji Yong dashed out of the practice room.

Seung Ri shrugged. “Probably wouldn’t want to waste any precious time with his baby,” he replied, smirking.

TOP frowned. Something was going on between them . . . it was something more than the ordinary.

He was right when he and the others came home and caught them kissing on the sofa. They were sitting up but the sight of it made TOP feel like pulling Ji Yong apart from his sister. He didn’t like seeing his sister kissing someone in front of him, even if the person was Ji Yong. At least they’re not sleeping together.

It continued like this for the rest of the week, right done to a few days before Lia had to go back to Melbourne. And every morning TOP would never get to have a chance to walk with Lia because she was always gone whenever he wakes up.

He tried to catch her, but he could never seem to be on time. She was always already out. He even once slept outside in the living room but when he woke up, Lia was walking in the house.

“Hey,” she had said, “what are you doing, sleeping out here?”

He shook his head. He didn’t want to let his sister know how desperate he was. “Nothing,” he had mumbled.

Lia shrugged it off. She went in Ji Yong’s room and came out with him a few minutes later. She was on his back and he was giving her a piggy back ride to the kitchen. He had pulled out things from the cupboard and made breakfast for the two of them. It was like they had forgotten that TOP was just there, watching them kiss and laugh. He just shook his head.

One morning, he woke up at six. It was a good day, too. Thinking it would be useless to look for Lia, he decided to go to Ji Yong’s room instead.

He knocked on the door softly and then pushed it opened. Ji Yong was fast asleep. He smiled. Good, he has someone to walk with.

He walked over to his side of the bed but froze.

Lia was in bed with Ji Yong, and Ji Yong had his arms wrapped around her, his head buried under her chin.

What the hell?