I sighed quite a few times on the way to the school. I looked at the sky and sighed again as I remember about last night tragedy.

<>

Mom was crying so badly and I just scratched my back head, thinking about how to stop her from crying. She looked at me with her puppy eyes but I just ignored her. Then, when I looked at her again, she still had her puppy eyes on and I sighed in defeat.

“OK, FINE! I’ll ask Chanyeol tomorrow to go back home and lived with us.” I said to my mom and she cheered up. She stood up from the dining chair and hugged me.

“It’s a promise then. You know how the grim reaper will take your life if you break your promises.” My mom whispered to me and I shuddered at the mention of grim reaper.

 Because of the story books that I read during my childhood time, I kind of feeling uncomfortable just by the mention of grim reaper. I nodded my head quickly and my mom released her embraced. She walked to the kitchen and started to prepare for dinner.

All of a sudden, Jiyeon jumped behind me and my heart nearly fell because of her sudden encounter.

“BOO YAW! Daydreaming in the morning? Very unusual for a delinquent like you.” Jiyeon stated cheerfully and I punched her in the arm.

At the school, I saw Chanyeol walking passed me and I really felt like wanted to punch him since he just ignored me like I’m a stranger.

“Haven’t you got something to tell me?” I asked Chanyeol.

He stopped his track and turned to me.

“What would that be?” He said expressionless and my eyes widened by his respond.

Then, the student council vice president, Son Na-Eun arrived and greeted Chanyeol. They walked off together and I restrained myself from punching both of them.

During lunch time, Jiyeon approached me with a leaflet in her hands. She grinned at me and I just looked at her lazily.

“Ooh… I saw dark clouds everywhere around you. Exam fever got you? That’s so unlike you.” Jiyeon complained to me and I just sighed.

“Exam or not doesn’t bother me.” I mumbled to Jiyeon lazily and slumped my head on the table.

Jiyeon just grinned and raised the leaflet. “I’ve got just the best thing for you. Ta-da! 80% discount for all the shops in Gangnam! Sounds good, right?”

“Yeah… Sounds… Fun…” I mumbled to myself but loud enough for Jiyeon to hear it.

“Ugh! Whatever, we’re gonna meet up at the station around 12pm, tomorrow. You better come.” Jiyeon warned me and walked back to her classroom.

After school, I searched for Chanyeol and luckily, I found him at the staircase.

“Park Chanyeol-shii, we need to talk.” I said to Chanyeol politely and both of us walked to the school rooftop.

“I’m sorry about what I did at the morning assembly. I… didn’t think things would end up like this.” I apologized to Chanyeol and he just kept silence. “I wasn’t there last night, so mom had to tell me, but… did you actually want to leave?”

When I turned around, Chanyeol’s face was right in front of me and I think the gap was around an inch only between us. My heart was beating so fast when he stared at me closely.

“Are you saying… you’ll take me back from grandfather’s house?” Chanyeol asked me and smiled cutely.

My face was getting hotter and I leaned back while Chanyeol’s face getting closer towards me.

“Just kidding. You think I’m not coming back because grandfather told me not to get near you? No, it’s something I decided to do on my own. So leave me alone.” Chanyeol explained to me and he turned around.

His face turned back to expressionless and he walked away. My heart felt like it had shattered into pieces and I held my tears from falling as I looked at Chanyeol’s disappearing figure.

A week’s gone by and we haven’t spoken a word to each other since Chanyeol always has people around him. Compared to him, those rumors make me look like a fool. Some people said that I’m a mistress daughter while the others said that I just wanted to get closer with student council president. I’m sure that he probably values me about as much as those groupies or maybe even less. What’s this horrible feeling?

At night, I laid the mattress on the wooden floor and just looked at the well folded mattress in the cabinet.

“Ugh! This .” I thought to myself and took the folded blanket which was Chanyeol’s. I clenched the blanket tightly and mumbled, “I’m disgusting.”

 At night, I go into a haze and it feels like this feeling is about to burn me.

The next day, after school, I saw Chanyeol walking and unconsciously I followed him.

“Am I stalking him? Huh, what am I doing…” I thought to myself and stopped at the front of a huge gate.

My eyes widened with the size of the gate and I realized that I just arrived at his grandfather’s mansion.

“How long do you intend on following me?” Chanyeol asked me and I hid behind the bushes, even though it’s too late to hide.

Chanyeol invited me inside and I looked around the mansion.

“G-gramps is really rich, isn’t he?” I asked Chanyeol and followed him to his room.

“I thought I made myself clear already.” Chanyeol said to me coldly as we walked upstairs.

Even the stairs are huge and elegant.

“No, this is about something else.” I said to Chanyeol as he unlocked his room door.

“If you’re done here, go home.” Chanyeol ordered me and he put his school bag on the desk.

Chanyeol’s room is as big as my living room. I looked at Chanyeol’s back and gathered my courage before I said anything.

“Will you really not come home with me?”

Chanyeol just sighed and untied his tie.

“So, it WAS about this. How many times must I tell you? I left on my-“

“Then why did you look at me with such a hurt expression?!” I cut off Chanyeol and I realized that his body flinched a bit. “T-the time when you kiss me too… and when I told you, you were being used… for just a moment you had that look. Do you also show that expression to other people?”

Chanyeol’s eyes widened and he clenched his fist tightly. I noticed this but I still continued with my scolding. “Let me do something to help you! I want to break down these rules forced upon you so you can live more freely! If it’s hard by yourself, I’ll help you any way I-“

“SHUT UP!” Chanyeol yelled and pinned me to his bed.

He was about to slap me, I think but I grabbed his hand and sat up.

“It will be alright!” I stated to Chanyeol firmly and hugged him. I noticed that tears were flowing from Chanyeol’s eyes. “I’m here for you.”

Chanyeol’s eyes widened as I said that and suddenly someone opened the door. I released Chanyeol from my embrace and looked at the person that opened the door. It was grandfather, Park Wonhee and his expression shows that he’s very angry.

“Chanyeol!”

“Gramps…” I said weakly while Chanyeol just looked at the mattress.

Park Wonhee looked at my hand that was holding Chanyeol’s and my messy hair.

“I can forgive the gate check and the morning assembly but doing something indecent to my grandson… from today on, you are expelled from the school!” Park Wonhee stated to me and I think that all of my brain system had stopped functioning for a second. “Don’t worry about the formalities. I will take care of it.” Park Wonhee said to me and left the room but stopped when I called him. “Go home. This is no place for someone like you.”

The next day, Jiyeon and I went to the amusement park. She ran around the amusement park while holding an ice-cream and I just followed her from behind. After we played the roller coaster, we decided to stop by at the small café. I sighed before we ordered the food and sighed again after we ordered the food. When the foods arrived, I sighed again. Jiyeon all of a sudden flicked my forehead out of irritation.

“Ouch, what was that for?!” I yelled at Jiyeon and she just laughed at my reaction.

“You sighed way too much that it irritates me. What’s wrong?” Jiyeon asked me in concern tone. I sighed again and she rolled her eyes.

“I got expelled from the school.” I whispered to Jiyeon and she suddenly stood up from her seat.

“SERIOUSLY?! WHY?!” Jiyeon shouted at me.

All of the people in the café look at us and I pulled Jiyeon to sit.

“Shh… Lower your voice! It’s a long story.” I mumbled to Jiyeon and she look at me seriously like a detective interrogating the suspect.

“I’m free for the whole day so if this story of yours takes a year then I won’t be coming to school just to listen to your story.” Jiyeon stated to me seriously.

I just smiled at her determination and told her the whole situation starting from Chanyeol being my step-brother until grandfather’s misunderstanding.

After I had finished the storytelling, I realized that Jiyeon was holding her tears from falling and I just smiled weakly at her reaction. I wiped her tears with my thumb and she looked away in embarrassment. Suddenly, Jiyeon gasped and looked at me.

“That’s it! You need to fight him, Yuna!” Jiyeon said to me in excitement.

I just nodded my head and ran out of the café. Jiyeon laughed as I left and stopped abruptly as she realized something.

“That Yuna! She left me alone to pay the bill!”

I arrived at grandfather’s mansion and took a deep breath before entering the mansion. Chanyeol was not home so I decided to just meet grandfather alone. When I entered his room, I saw grandfather was lying on the ground unconscious. I quickly called an ambulance and ran to his side.

“Gramps, gramps! Wake up, gramps.” I called out so many times but he still unconscious.

 A few minutes later, an ambulance arrived and they took grandfather to the hospital.

“GRANDFATHER!” Chanyeol barged into the room at the hospital and the nurse hush him.

“Oh, you’re the grandson?” The nurse asked Chanyeol and he just nodded his head in confusion. “Thank goodness. You see… there was a girl around your age with bright hair, she handled things fantastically. She immediately called an ambulance and informed us of the situation. It seemed like the most important thing in the world to her and she told us to get in touch with the patient’s grandson. She kept insisting it so, I’m glad you’re here.” Chanyeol’s eyes widened upon hearing the nurse explanation.

I was woken up from my sleep thanks to my sneeze. Then, I walked to the room where grandfather were being held and opened the door slowly.

“Gramps, are you up yet?” I asked lazily while rubbing my eyes.

Then, I saw Chanyeol sitting on the chair besides the bed.

“Oh, sorry. I’ll leave.” I said and closed the door but stopped when Chanyeol called me.

He brought me to the hospital rooftop. I just stared at the cement floor while Chanyeol looked at the night view of the city.

‘Ugh, I can’t look him in the face.’ I thought to myself.

“Thanks for your help with grandfather.” Chanyeol said all of a sudden.

“T-that’s just the natural thing to do. Anyone else would have done the same thing.” I stated to Chanyeol and blushed.

‘Right’ was his only reply.

I have to say something. I’m sure the moment our eyes meet, I’ll get nervous again and won’t be able to say anything but, I decided to not run away anymore. Before I could say anything, Chanyeol suddenly talked.

“My name…” He whispered and I just looked at him in confusion. “My name is Park Chanyeol. The nurse told me earlier that she couldn’t call me because she didn’t know my name. You never gave her my name. I thought maybe you forgot. We’re in the same year so calling you ‘noona’ or anything is out of question. If we can just call each other by our given names, that’d be nice. Th-that’s what being a family is, right?” Chanyeol stated to me and blushed as he looked at me. “And… could you tell mom to not worry?”

‘He’s moving forward by himself’ was what I thought. I suddenly giggled and walked away. “Alright! Then I better go home too! I’ll check up on gramps tomorrow. Good night, Chanyeol!” I said to Chanyeol and left the hospital.

As I arrived at the train station, I decided to call mom. “Hello, mom? Sorry! I’m already on my way home. More importantly, Chanyeol said we’re family and that you don’t have to worry, mom. Yes, and the two of us will be like siblings too…” I stopped when I heard the word ‘sibling’ and frowned. My heart ache so much because of that ‘sibling’.