By the time Hayi was 13, she figured life was over for her.

It was obvious, actually. It had only been a year since her appa died but her mother’s way past the depression stage, coming home with full-metallic or flirty smiles plastered on her face and her hands full with paper bags from labelled brands. Or that one time she got home pretty late at night and caught her mother tiptoeing to her room, smiling to herself as if it was the best day of her life.

The last time Hayi saw that kind of smile was the day her mother married her appa.

It was weird how she remembered that. Once you’re grown up, you could barely remember anything from three years old and below. But Hayi did. Somehow, the memory was sort of like a painful reminder or a strange prediction that her appa would soon be gone. Her appa used to be the reason behind that pretty smile on her mother’s face.

Now, it’s someone else.

When she was 15, things began changing.

His name was Lee Soohyuk a wealthy businessman who owned an entertainment company in Korea (and one in China—Hayi heard her mother mention about it. Proudly, in fact.) He might be the same age of her appa, too, and he had three kids. And his wife? Hayi never really asked. She never did care at all. The first time he came over, Hayi saw he was anxious at meeting the only family her mother had. But it could be fake, Hayi thought bitterly. He wore a black suit and his hair pushed back; he looked young at first glance but she could see the lines on his face if she stared a bit longer.

At 17, they were moving into the businessman’s house.

The instant Hayi saw the businessman’s house, cruel thoughts began pooling inside her head. The house could be mistaken as a mansion—in fact, it could very well be a mansion with its land area a hundred times bigger than their previous apartment; it covered acres. The gates automatically open whenever the businessman places his face in front of the tiny camera. The front porch, decorated with varieties of bushes and flowers and small trees, was wide enough it might as well be enough for a single-type apartment. Elegant white-covered walls provided more emphasis on the modernity of the said house. They even had an extensive garage for their expensive cars.

The inside was even more beautiful than Hayi could have ever imagined. At the center of the house was a silver chandelier, which was probably the highlight of the house. It was beautiful and sparkly; Hayi almost forgot she hated the businessman. The interior of the house could never be more charmingly designed.

“I wasn’t entirely sure on how to design your room,” said the businessman—AKA new appa—as he gave her a smile, “but your Umma said you liked black. I made sure your room was made to fit your requirements.”

“Requirements,” Hayi repeated, finding it funny how just one statement from him made everything entire formal-ish. She could see her mother giving her be grateful and appreciate it and don’t complain looks from the corner of her eye but chose to ignore it.

And if truth be told, the moment she stepped inside her new, glorious room, it was basically… amazing. But she couldn’t admit that. She wouldn’t. It would be like disrespecting her late appa if she showed any affection or gratefulness to the man she’s only acquainted with for like a year.

She had her own queen-sized black-and-white bed, and on it were pillows of the said colors and a huge teddy bear at the right. It had a black canopy draped by both sides. Beside the bed were bedside tables with an alarm clock, blank frame and a cordless phone. She had her own bathroom, too, with a walk-in closet right next to it. Inside the closet was a full-length body mirror.

“So,” the businessman cleared his throat. “Do you like it?”

Hayi shrugged, not meeting his eyes. She was grateful, of course, but she didn’t want this. Her appa wouldn’t want this. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Hayi,” her Mom sternly called; Hayi knew what it meant.

“Thanks,” she grumbled.

The businessman smiled. It looked sincere. “No problem. I’m really happy you like it.” Exhaling happily, he turned to her mother. “Now, let’s leave Hayi to her room, shall we?” He glanced at me. “Or would you want to come with us for a quick tour around the house? Chanyuk and Soohyun will be coming home soon. Seunghoon might be late for dinner so I was thinking we could just go out. Soohyun is so excited to meet her new sister.”

New sister. Ick.

Mom grinned, placing her hand on his cheek. Hayi nearly threw up. “That would be a great idea, honey. It would be a great way to get the kids to know one another.”

“You’ve met them?” Hayi asked in disbelief.

Mom nodded. “Of course.”

“Is that why you come home late every night? Because you come here straight right after you finish your work and then forget that you have a daughter, too?”

“Lee Hayi.” That look and voice—Hayi knew it was time to stop.

“Y’know what? I’ll stay right here,” Hayi offered, giving the businessman who began to feel awkward at the uprising family fight a forced smile. “I’ll get back to that tour, I don’t know, maybe later or something.”

“Okay. And make yourself at home. This is yours now as much as it’s mine.”

Yeah whatever. Hayi merely responded with a small grin.

Despite the cold responses, Hayi saw how genuinely happy the businessman was. She wasn’t sure if he was faking; and if he was, he was extremely good at it. That grin on his face could grab the attention of married mothers because, let’s face it, her mother shagged a really hot one.

But Appa’s still the hottest guy of course, Hayi reminded herself. Plopping down, she ran down memory lane of a few minutes ago—the look on her mother’s face when he gazed at her. Hayi nearly cried.

It was the same look she gave her appa every single day before he was gone.

It was past three in the afternoon when Hayi woke up from an unscheduled nap. One second she was just lying down to check the bed out and the next second she had fallen asleep. Her mother and the businessman were gone—probably went on a date or something. The silence outside the house was really new to her. Back in their previous neighbourhood, every day was chaos and noise and end of the world altogether.

She brought herself up to sit on the bed and stared blankly at the window overlooking the vicinity. No noise. New surroundings. It felt strange yet comforting; she was beginning to feel homesick to a place that never even belonged to her.

Only a minute later did she notice a paper bag right next to her. Inside was a brand new mobile phone with a simple black phone case and a note that said Welcome home! and a smiley face. Hayi sighed.

She grabbed her new phone and headed straight right to her new closet, only to remember that she haven’t unpacked her bags yet. I’ll do it later, she decided as she grabbed a black hoodie and her skateboard from one of her bags and went out of her room.

“Oh, hi!”

“Hello,” Hayi greeted back.

Standing across her was a girl with a really huge smile on her face. She was still wearing what seemed to be her uniform so Hayi assumed the girl was Soohyun who just came home from school.

“Are you Hayi unnie?”

Unnie. “Uh, yeah. I guess.” Hayi shrugged. “And you’re Soohyun?”

Soohyun squealed, clapping her hands together. “Yes! I am so glad to have finally met you! Your mother told me so much about you that I couldn’t wait to finally have a sister.”

The happiness is strong on this one, Hayi thought amusingly.

“Where are you headed to?” Soohyun wanted to know. There was a hopeful smile on her face, as if Soohyun really wanted to know where Hayi was going and maybe she could come with. But so much had already happened in one day; Hayi wasn’t sure she was ever going to open up.

Hayi shrugged. “I was thinking of walking around the area.”

“You skateboard?” Soohyun smiled, looking interested.

“It’s just a means of transportation,” answered Hayi, glancing at the board she had between her arm and her ribs. There was no way she was going to teach Soohyun how to skateboard. “Mom doesn’t really allow me to do more than that. It can break your legs or arms… or your head.”

“Oh. Can I come with you then? I can just walk.”

“I’m not sure you can keep up.” Hayi kept her face straight.

Soohyun’s smile faltered. “Oh.”

“See you later.”

Hey guys! so apparently hanbin doesn't appear until chapter 5(???) because i just want to lay out what happens first before hanbin comes in because the first few chapters are kind of important so you guys need to stay put for the bihi moments and future hayi x ???? and ????? moments. It'll come soon so i hope you guys could wait and support this story! Also, please leave some comments if you can so I would know how I'm doing. Very appreciated thank you :)

p.s. and for the early update instead of saturday--that's because i won't be here tmr (which is sat)!