When Sungyeol recognized the girl being harassed as Sunmi, he felt an uncontrollable anger inside. He run the few meters that were between them and he punched one of the men as hard as he could; the man fell to the ground because he didn’t see it coming, not because the boy was bigger than him.

“Run!” Sungyeol yelled while grabbing Sunmi by the wrist and running as fast as he could. They could hear the men chasing them for a few blocks, until the only sound audible was their own feet.

Sungyeol stopped to catch some air once he made sure the guys weren’t following them anymore. He bent down to rest, and after a minute he glanced at Sunmi, who hadn’t move since they stopped running. She looked really scared; her eyes were bigger than normal, she was just standing there like a statue, and had some of her fingers covering .

“Hey… are you okay?” The boy asked, worried. He could see her trembling, until her eyes got wet and she started to cry.

Sungyeol felt powerless; the girl that always treated him in a bad manner, and had a strong character was crying. After a few seconds, he realized she wasn’t going to stop, so he slowly hugged her and caressed her back.

“Shh… shhh… everything’s okay, now.” Sunmi kept on crying really hard while resting her head on his chest. Sungyeol felt awkward at first, but after seeing her like that, he really didn’t care anymore. The situation got her more than he thought it would.

“It’s… it’s the first time that I…” She managed to say in between tears, but Sungyeol shushed her and kept on hugging her.

After a few minutes, Sunmi was slowly getting better. Sungyeol suddenly remembered they had to get home quickly, as it was already night time. He grabbed her by the shoulders and looked at her eyes; they were swollen because of the crying, but she had already stopped.

“Let’s go home, okay?” He said in a sweet voice, and she nodded without looking at him.

*******

Hyunsung was really irritated at the fact that his son didn’t get home at the time he promised. But when he saw that he was with Sunmi, and once Sungyeol told him they had fun and didn’t see the hour, he calmed down. After all, it was Hyunsung’s wish for them to get along.

Jaemi was out spending some time with her friends, so Sunmi locked herself in her room as soon as she got home. She left her purse on the floor and grabbed her head while kneeling down on the floor. Tears wanted to fall again, but she did her best not to cry. She had to be strong and get back to her normal self; the one no one wanted to approach and no one wanted to be friends with.

*******

After eating something, Sungyeol got into his room and decided to play some video games. He was still a little worried about Sunmi; he didn’t see her since they got home, and her door was locked. He hesitated on knocking and asking how she was doing, but he thought it was the best to leave her alone.

He had already been playing for half an hour, when he heard someone familiar.

“What are you playing?”

Sungyeol turned around while sitting on the edge of the bed just to see Sunmi was resting her side on the opened entrance. She was embracing herself and looked a little shy, but her talking was kind.

“Resident Evil.” He answered and she nodded. He glanced at the TV screen and then looked at her again. “Do you play?”

“Sometimes.” Sunmi quietly said and saw how Sungyeol stood up, grabbed a controller and handed it to her. She hesitated, but saw that Sungyeol really wanted her to play with him, so she took it and entered the room.

*******

Hyunsung was preparing to go to sleep; Jaemi told him she was already in her way back, but she didn’t want him to wait for her. He left the bathroom and was heading to his room when he heard some talking and sound coming from Sungyeol’s room, that had the door slightly opened.

“Yeah!” Sunmi exclaimed, high-fiving Sungyeol, who was laughing and celebrating their victory on the game.

Hyunsung smiled widely; they looked so happy and entertained together. He finally went to bed with a happy smile on his face.

*******

Next day at school, Sungjong and Myungsoo noticed something weird in Sungyeol. He was smiling while eating, and they glanced at each other wondering what happened.

“Emm… Yeol?” Sungjong said, and his friend looked at him, curious. “Why are you so happy?”

“What?” He seemed surprised and saw how Myungsoo laughed. “Do I have to always be annoyed or…?”

“No, no, it’s not that… It’s just…” Myungsoo made him stop, and Sungyeol kept on eating his lunch, not really wanting to answer.

Myungsoo made Sungjong understand to leave him alone; it was funny to see him act that way, and they’d know the reason later on anyways. The youngest wasn’t convinced, but he let it go; it was fun to see Sungyeol smile and act like a silly guy sometimes.

*******

When it was almost time to go home, Sungyeol looked for Sunmi at the hallway. She was at her locker, and he approached her happily.

“Hey, Sunmi…” Sungyeol stopped talking when he saw she wasn’t alone.

“Oh, Sungyeol-ah!” Woohyun greeted him smiling. He growled without him actually noticing it, and Sunmi looked at him in a weird way. “So, see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, sure.” The girl answered and Woohyun smiled while stepping back and walking away. She kept on arranging her locker, without looking at Sungyeol.

“So… are you two friends?” He asked, trying to hide his feelings.

“Mm… he has helped me a lot so far.” Sunmi glanced at him. “Why?”

“No, nothing…. Just curious.” She nodded, not caring about the expressions he was making. “Are you ready to go home?” He said, trying to change the subject.

“In a minute.” Sunmi answered while arranging her books. After a while, she closed her locker and started to walk to the front door; Sungyeol followed her.

“I just wanted to say that… I’m really thankful for what you did last night.” She said not looking at him. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I still feel uncomfortable with… you know… parents’ things.”

Sungyeol was a little surprised to hear that, but he understood and smiled.

“Don’t worry, I am too.”

Sunmi nodded and bit her lower lip while walking; Sungyeol smiled at the fact that she was finally showing her true self after all their time living together.