Yura was extremely disappointed and pissed off.

Today was supposed to be the day where she got to spend a magical moment with Sojin so that they could have fun and laugh and bond and ride off into the sunset with their newly formed friendship ‒ but no.

Yura wasn’t oblivious. She knew that Hyeri and Sojin had a great time together at the farmers’ market with the way Hyeri kept running about it during last night’s sister talk. Minah was more subtle but Yura noticed how she smiled more at dinner whenever Sojin complimented her “fine cooking skills”. Psssh. Yura sulked from her spot on the couch. She could chop green onions just as well as Minah…

Yesterday, the pair of singers didn’t realize they had an audience during their mini concert in the kitchen. The high schooler had taken a short break from her homework when movement from the other room caught her attention. Yura tiptoed closer to peek around the corner, only to see quite a few embarrassing dance moves. She had to admit, though, that their voices sounded heavenly and Yura felt a small pang of envy at their shared talent bringing the two closer together.

She was happy that her sisters were getting along so well with Sojin but she felt left out for not having her one-on-one time with the big unnie yet. After all, Yura was the one who found her first.

Until then, Yura was stuck glaring at the culprit from across the room, awkwardly trying to decide where he should sit. Hakyeon was his name apparently and Yura viciously blamed him for getting in the way of her bonding time with Sojin.

Was it his fault? Not really. If anything, it was Eunji’s fault for requiring Sojin to draft a babysitter at the last minute. However, Yura needed a scapegoat to direct her feelings at, and since Sojin seemed to act uncomfortably around him, Yura had no reason to like him anyway.

Hakyeon ran his hands through his precious hair for the nth time since he had stepped through the doorway. His apartment was exactly the same size as Sojin’s, but between the death glare coming from the cross armed girl on the couch and the other two girls sprawled out on the floor as they watched TV, he might as well have been standing in a cardboard box.

He risked another glance at the oldest girl but immediately turned his glance toward the floor, trying to hide the shudder wrought from her scowl. He hated how the much younger girl could tear apart his confident and cocky pretense so easily ‒ but then again, that’s all it was, an act.

The tall guy smiled a little, thinking about all his interactions with Sojin. He only ever acted that way to get a rise out of her. In college, whenever boys would ask Sojin out, she would shrug them off with indifference. Hakyeon was the only one able to have actual conversations with her. Granted, most of them consisted of him teasing her and her deadpanning back with exasperated comments, but in the rare moments when they talked ‒ really talked ‒ Hakyeon found himself falling for her more and more. In those instances his personality reverted back to his real self, the boy next door who would do anything to buy his noona strawberry milk just to draw a smile from her…

Oh, shoot.

Hakyeon froze when he realized he had been grinning like a fool since Sojin crossed his mind. Yura probably thought he was making fun of her and would ‒ yup there it is. Her glower had increased its intensity tenfold. Hakyeon had to do something about that. Fast.

Oh look, a plant. Internally cringing at the lame idea his thought process led him to, he rationalized staring at a plant was better than the floor.

It was a pretty plant. Well taken care of and, well, green, Hakyeon supposed. With nothing else to do, he observed it from different angles.

Thinking he saw the leaf shine, the new plant enthusiast reached to check if it was actually fake.

“Hey. Don't touch Sojin unnie’s stuff,” an indifferent voice called out. Yura was now looking at her phone and didn't bother to look up as she spoke to him.

Her sisters pulled their attention off of the television at the first human sound since Sojin left fifteen minutes ago.

“I wasn't going to. I was simply admiring it.” Hakyeon tried to turn back to the plant but Yura wasn't done.

“You were totally about to touch it. Don't lie. You're here to watch over us. So stop snooping.” At this point, Yura had gotten up from the couch, sandwiching her body in between Hakyeon and the plant.

“Yura, right?” The teen nodded.

“Yura ‒ you're being ridiculous. I doubt Sojin noona even cares. It's literally just a stem with five leaves. There's not even a flower.”

The girl sensed these were fighting words and steeled her face to its utmost coldness.

“Now you're just making fun of it. Like I said, don't touch it. You don't have respect for the plant anyway.”

“It. Is. Just. A. Plant. Touching it is not going to harm it. Let me just‒” Hakyeon made a move to tap the leaf but Yura slid the pot closer to her at the same time. His instincts caused him to grab the edge quickly to prevent the movement.

It all happened so fast. The tug of war resulted in a tipping over the counter in which neither of them could predict and stop in time.

Crash.

“Oh no! Mr. Pot Pot!” Minah and Hyeri rushed to the scene of crime to see a guilty Yura and Hakyeon standing over the remnants of Sojin’s potted plant. Hyeri kneeled down to carefully the leaf sticking up from the pile like a white flag. She looked up at Yura tearfully(?) and mourned, “How could you two break Sojin unnie’s precious baby?”

Yura’s cold exterior dropped with the plant. Tugging at her hair, she nervously asked, “P-precious baby? What nonsense are you spouting now, Hyeri?”

“She’s speaking the truth, you know.” Minah shook her head sorrowfully. “Sojin unnie talks to the plant every day and kisses it every night. She’s taken care of the plant for the past two years.”   

“When did she tell you that?”

The middle child cocked her head. “Last night, remember?”

A flash of Minah and Hyeri crowding around the plant’s former home while Sojin excitedly waved her arms around ran through Yura’s mind. And what was she doing at the time? Fangirling over pictures of Lee Seunggi on her phone.

Yura felt even worse. Here she was blaming other people for getting in the way of Sojin and her’s relationship when she herself was missing the opportunities so obviously presented to her.

Speaking of blaming others… “Hakyeon-ssi, how do you think you’ll possibly explain this to Sojin unnie? This is your fault after all.”

Hakyeon, who had been quiet the entire time as he stared at the mess on the floor, whipped his head up at Yura’s accusation. “My fault?! You’re as much at fault as I am! In fact, if you really want to start pointing fingers, this all started because of you!”

Yura pursed her lips and balled her fists. Meanwhile, Minah stealthily grabbed her younger sister and moved them to safety, away from the brewing war zone. “That is so not true. Besides, don’t you think you should man up for once and confess your wrongdoings to unnie? You’ve known her longer, what damage could she possibly inflict? I, on the other hand, met her three days ago, and it is absolutely vital that she still thinks of me as an angel.”

Hakyeon guffawed, “An angel? Yeah, right. If only she could see you now, red faced and red handed.” He took a step forward, taunting her further, “I could call her right here, right now. After all, it's the babysitter’s job to report the child’s bratty behavior!”

“HEYYY!!” The stare down was broken as they both turned to look at the source of the yell.

Minah took a deep breath to calm herself. Hyeri patted her unnie reassuringly. “Don't you guys realize there’s a bigger issue right now? Arguing is not going to fix Sojin unnie’s broken pot. Apologize now so that we can fix the problem.”

Hakyeon and Yura looked at everything but each other.

“Now,” Minah warned. She could hardly believe they were considered the young adults in this situation.

Grumbles of ‘sorry’ could barely be heard from the two but Minah let it slide because she knew that was the best she’d get from them right now. Sojin would be back in a few hours and Minah did not want to spend their precious time together explaining why Yura and Hakyeon childishly hated each other at first sight.

“Why are we at this market again?” Hakyeon questioned as his eyes scanned the stalls selling mostly food. “You know I could have driven us to a better one closer to the center of Seoul.”

Yura ignored his question, setting a brisk pace for the rest of them to follow.

Minah nicely clarified, “Sojin unnie comes here a lot for groceries. There's a higher chance she bought the pot here.”

“We’re here,” Yura stated. She passively pointed to a tent with all sorts of jugs and jars in it.

The four of them squeezed in to begin the search for a pot that resembled Sojin’s, mindful of the fragile ceramics surrounding them.

“Is this it?” Hakyeon asked, holding a blue pot of similar size to the broken mess in the dumpster near the apartment.

Minah examined the design carefully. Her eyes lit up. “It's really close. Unnie's pot was grey so if we can find‒”

“Found it,” Yura interjected. Her callous exterior remained, but inside all she felt was major relief for getting out of hot water.

“Step aside, children. I got this.” Hyeri made a show of cracking her knuckles before taking a step forward to start an intense barter with the shopkeeper.

Hakyeon lifted an eyebrow at the display of overconfidence that seemed to ooze from this little girl. He could stand to learn a thing or two from her. Yura just side-eyed him and gave a tiny shrug, not bothering to give an explanation.

This was Hyeri. That was all the explanation needed.

“Umf!” A hand darted out to drag Yura out of the tent and away from hearing distance.

Minah crossed her arms. “You gotta knock it off.”

“Is that any way to speak to your older sister?” Yura sarcastically questioned, brushing imaginary dust off her sleeve.

“When she’s acting like a petulant child, yes,” Minah smirked. She gracefully dodged Yura’s attempt to pinch her side. “Dad said so.”

“Yeah, well Dad’s not here...same with Sojin unnie,” Yura mumbled the last part to herself. She shifted uncomfortably at Minah’s stare down. The one that resembled their mom’s you’re-in-so-much-trouble glare exactly. “Fiiiine. I'll tone down the attitude. Happy?”

Minah reached up to squish Yura’s cheeks together and searched her eyes for signs of truthfulness. Satisfied, Minah held her sister’s hand and tugged her back toward the tent.

“Solving numerous problems in one afternoon sure makes a girl hungry. Let's eat after this, unnie.”

Drumming his fingers on the tabletop, Hakyeon took the time to take in the colorful decorations of the cafe around him. His eyes landed on the flatscreen TV in the corner and got excited. The newest episode of Running Man was on. His schedule lately hadn’t given him the leeway to watch it yet.

“Can you stop?”

His fingers stilled. Guess he wouldn’t watch it today either.

They were having lunch in Dream Tea, a place Hakyeon was familiar with having bothered Sojin here many times. Hakyeon gave Yihan the customary bro hug in greeting, not realizing he would regret being friendly when two minutes later Yihan decided to steal Minah and Hyeri to help out in the kitchen. Hyekyung had ditched work to go on some rendezvous with her boyfriend. Hakyeon could have used the midgets right about now. The awkwardness at the table was intense.

Hakyeon decided to observe Yura since there was nothing else to do. Even now, she didn’t look at him when she spoke. She was resting a cheek on her hand, ripping apart a poor napkin at her mercy. He wondered why Yura didn’t just help in the back with her sisters ‒ it wasn’t like she was having any fun here with Hakyeon.

“Why do you hate me, Y-yura?” He cringed, voice coming out meeker than he intended. Too late now. “I just...want to understand.”

She lifted up her head, not quite looking at him yet, but at least in his direction. A crack in the girl’s wall seemed to appear at his honesty. Or maybe she was just as tired of their quarrel as he was. Yura puffed out her cheeks, letting out a sigh that sent some torn pieces of flying napkin at Hakyeon’s face.

The comedic effect of him spitting out the paper managed to melt the ice a little bit further.

“I don’t hate you…” she mumbled. Finally Yura met Hakyeon’s gaze, giving him a half smile that hinted at her definition of an apology. “I let my emotions get the better of me today and I’m sorry. I don’t usually act like this, I swear.”

Hakyeon pretended to think about it for a while. “I’ll believe you. If you believe that I’m not arrogant and annoying either ‒ even if I am pretty handsome,” he added that last part with a wink.

Laughing, Yura threw the crumpled ball of the remaining napkin at his head. “I think I’ll hold off on the ‘not arrogant’ claim for now.”

“Good choice.” He picked up the napkin to prevent a scolding from Yihan later. “Anyway, in all seriousness, would you like to talk about this emotion that’s bothering you? I sense it’s more than just an initial dislike of my presence.”

“It’s a mixture of a lot of emotions actually.” Yura glanced at the front counter, checking for any sign of the others. “Jealousy, disappointment, frustration, and the usual smattering of angsty teenage hormones.”

She continued, “I was really hoping I could spend quality time with Sojin unnie today. I feel like the longer the time that passes without that connection, the further I distance myself from her and my sisters. They have a bond, ya know? I guess I’ve just been feeling left out.”

“Understandable. However, you've only know Sojin noona for what, three days? From my experience, it takes her a while to get comfortable around people.”

“But what about‒”

“Your sisters are basically kids. Relating to them is much easier for noona. She has natural motherly instincts she doesn't even know about.”

Yura incredulously asked, “How would you know that?”

Hakyeon smiled as he recalled the memory. “It was about a month after noona finally got used to my presence. Midterms were around the corner so studying was everything. She somehow found out I wasn't eating properly - probably because I was constantly tired and dizzy at school ‒ and the next day a whole pot of curry showed up on my doorstep.

“Best curry ever by the way. The point is, Sojin noona takes care of those around her. She’s just a little slower when it comes to connecting with them.”

Thinking about how impatient she already was, Yura pouted. “How long will it take?”

“You’re in the same boat I used to sail in, my friend,” Hakyeon chuckled, the tension from earlier completely diminished with the endearment. “Don’t worry. You’ll bond with noona soon. I broke most of her walls last year.” He gave Yura another exaggerated wink.

She rolled her eyes at his weirdness and lightly threatened, “You know if you’re wrong, I know where to hunt you down, right?”

“Yup,” Hakyeon said, popping the ‘p’. “It’s a good thing I’m always right.”

A/N: Jealous Yura is always fun to watch, let alone write. xD Poor her, when will she ever get her chance with Sojin? Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, it was extra long to make up for the wait.