“Eonnieeeeeeee! Wake up, wake up! Your sunshine is here!”
An energetic and enthusiastic voice woke Juhyeon very early in the morning. Juhyeon opened her eyes to see a face of a little girl right in front of hers. “Eonnie!” squealed the little girl then hugged Juhyeon tightly as she lay on her bed. Juhyeon gently patted her back and gave her head a peck. Even if Juhyeon was still half asleep, she knew exactly who interrupted her slumber.
It was Yeri. Yeri is the youngest girl in Juhyeon’s itty-bitty circle of friends. She’s an overly positive and bubbly 15 year old and was the baby of their group.  She treated Juhyeon like a real big sister and sometimes like her own mother.

“Yeri-ah, you don’t have school?” mumbled Juhyeon then closed her eyes again.

“It’s Friday, no school. I’ll stay here with you aaaall day. But first, Eonnie, where did you put my uniform?” said Yeri while holding Juhyeon’s hands.
“It’s in the other room….hung…on the cabinet…careful please….I ironed it alrea…dy…..” said Irene groggily then fell back asleep.
 ”Neh~” Yeri replied then zoomed straight to the other room. She busted through the room’s door and ran to her uniform that was hung on the cabinet’s door.
“Waaaah~ eonnie ironed it so well” said Yeri as she examined every part of her perfectly ironed uniform. She was so amazed at how her eonnie made it look so brand new. She remembered how wrinkly and dirty it got the last time she used it. To her fascination, she then moved her face closer to the uniform and took a long sniff at it. She was very mesmerized by how it smelled like flowers. It nearly smelled like Juhyeon herself. Yeri squealed in excitement as she imagined how wonderful she would look and smell when she wears it the next time she goes to school.
“Woah! I can now show it off to my classmates! It smells so great!” exclaimed Yeri.

“Urgh…Uhh….”

Yeri froze as she suddenly heard groans from behind her.
“Omo omo omo, what was that! B-but eonnie lives alone right?? People barely go in this room. Could it be the ghost of her dad?? Did I disturb his soul?? Huhuhu eotteohkke, eotteohkke(what to do)” Yeri thought to herself as she grew more paranoid. But she thought that, whatever it was, she must protect her Juhyeon-eonnie from it. She mustered up every ounce of courage inside her to face who or what was behind her. She quickly turned around saw a man with silver long hair with a bloody bandage around his head. He was yawning and stretching as he got off the bed. Yeri gasped. Out of paranoia, she ran towards the man and slapped him in the head.
“GAH!” the man groaned, fell on his knees and held his head in pain. Yeri then immediately ran to Juhyeon’s room. She kicked the door open, ran to Juhyeon and carried her off the bed.
“Eonnie eonnieeeee! WAKE UP! HURRY!” cried Yeri as she helped the sleeping Juhyeon to stand up on her feet.
“Y-yeri-ah wae?..” said Juhyeon while rubbing her eyes, trying to get up.
“THERE’S A BLOODY AJHUSSI IN THE OTHER ROOM! HURRY! LET’S GET OUT OF HERE!”
“MWO!? BLOODY AJHUSSI?!” screamed Juhyeon, her eyes opened widely.
A fear-induced adrenaline rush woke Juhyeon. Her senses were suddenly so alive. She held on to Yeri’s hand and pulled her out of the room immediately. Both girls panicked and headed to the house’s main door.  When they reached the door and were just about to run outside, Juhyeon came to her senses and remembered that Taemin was staying in the other room where Yeri claimed to have seen a “bloody ajhussi”.
“WAIT!” Juhyeon calmly stopped Yeri from running out.
“Wae wae wae?! Eonnie hurry!” Yeri continued panicking and was confused why Juhyeon was calm of a sudden.
“Was the bloody ajhussi wearing white pajamas?”
“W-wha---Neh! So let’s go!”
“He’s not a bloody ajhussi”
“E-eonnie, what are you saying? His head had a bloody bandage around it! Please believe me!”
“That’s my guest, he’s been staying here since the other night”
“But w-why would you let a bloody ajhussi stay alone with you?! It’s unsafe!”
“Yeri-ah, he’s not a bloody ajhussi. So please, calm down. He’s nice, don’t worry. Somebody hit him in the head and I had to treat his injury. He passed out that night and only woke up yesterday ”
“But that’s so unlike you, you never even talk to guys”
“But he was in need, so I had to. I’ll introduce you to him..”

“Ah…about that….hehe….eonnie…um…”
“What?”
“I also hit him in the head…mianhae, hehe…”
“You did what????” panicked Juhyeon and immediately ran to Taemin. Yeri followed after.
“Eonnie I’m sorry! I didn’t know, I just wanted to protect you!” said Yeri as she held Juhyeon’s arm.
“Let’s talk about this later, Yeri-ah”
As they reached the room Juhyeon ran directly to Taemin who was still on the floor rubbing his head.
“Omo, gwenchana?? Where are you hurt?? Was your injury hit??” Juhyeon asked Taemin and placed her hand on his back after she knelt down to his level.
“Aish...It feels better, I was hit on the other side so my injury wasn’t affected. It still hurts like hell though. I just woke up, about to get off the bed and  suddenly felt a whack on my head, I didn’t even see what hit me..” Taemin said while rubbing the area that Yeri had hit. Juhyeon then unwrapped his bandage to give his head a breather.
“I’m so sorry! My dongsaeng, thought you were a---”
“Dongsaeng? I thought you were an only child” Taemin said as he looked up. He saw Juhyeon kneeling right in front of him.
“Not biological, just a younger friend” replied Juhyeon.
He raised his head a bit more and behind her, he saw a little girl with huge pigtails. The little girl was biting her finger and looked pretty scared. He glared at the little girl, causing her to cringe.
“Is this the trouble maker?” asked Taemin, as he stood up to approach her. But as he was about to, Juhyeon held him back.
“Mianhaeyo. She didn’t mean to, she just wanted to protect me. She’s not used to seeing anyone else in this house so she thought you broke in” explained Juhyeon.
“Yeri come here” Juhyeon called the nervous girl over whom at first refused to come close.
“Taemin this is Yeri, she’s one of the girls I told you about” introduced Juhyeon. Yeri then gave Taemin a shaky ”Annyeong hasseyo”.
“Annyeong hasseyo” Taemin replied, paused to stare at Yeri while pretending to be mad. Then he grabbed her by the roots of her pigtails (as if they were horns) to playfully shake her head.
“Ouch! Yaaa!” exclaimed Yeri as she tried to break free from Taemin. Taemin then let go of Yeri’s pigtails and started to laugh a little.
“Now we’re even” chuckled Taemin. Yeri started to worry less about what happened because Taemin appeared to be playful. Juhyeon was glad in a way that at least Taemin kept up with Yeri’s playfulness instead of staying angry at her.
“Yeri, Taemin is staying here for a while so please be nice to him. And be careful! He’s injured you see” said Juhyeon and gave her a pat on the shoulders. Yeri stared at Taemin, and by the second she was starting to see how Taemin was pretty and handsome at the same time.
“Your name is Taemin right?” asked Yeri.
“Neh. Wae?” replied Taemin.
“Joy-eonnie liked a guy named Taemin right?” Yeri asked Juhyeon.
“Neh, she was very into male boybands back when she was your age” replied Juhyeon. Taemin felt a chill run up his spine. “Better be careful with that Joy, seems like she knows me” thought Taemin as he gulped in anxiety.
“A-ah, that must be another Taemin” he interrupted nervously.
“Yeah, idols don’t have time to rest in neighborhoods like these” added Yeri.
“It seems so. Also, idols have drivers. Taemin-oppa went to Daegu alone by bus” said Juhyeon.
“Oppa? But you never call anyone oppa!” said Yeri causing Juhyeon to feel uncomfortable. Taemin then gave her a nod, trying to remind her of the deal they made yesterday.
“He’s older” said Juhyeon anxiously.
“And he’s the first guy peer that you’ve talked to in years. And he’s handsome! Because of that, I guess I have to call him oppa as well” said Yeri with a cheeky grin then came closer to hug Taemin’s arm.
“Ahehe, kamsahamnida..” said Taemin who didn’t know how to react.
“Yeri-ah, behave..” said Juhyeon.
“Wae? He’s older isn’t her” said Yeri.                                                                                                                                                                            “I’m sorry about this” said Juhyeon feeling a bit embarrassed over Yeri’s rash actions. Yeri was just really a very bright girl. Compared to Juhyeon, Yeri was very friendly and she opened up to people quickly.

“It’s fine. She’s got a point. I am older, it seems like an appropriate honorific for her to use. Right Yeri-ah?” added Taemin and winked at Yeri. Yeri nodded back at Taemin. Juhyeon let out a sigh and walked to the bathroom to wash up.
“You guys go ahead to the dining table, I’ll be right there to make breakfast” said Juhyeon before she closed the bathroom door. Taemin then put his hands on Yeri’s shoulders and took her to the dining table. As they sat, Yeri started to poke Taemin’s arm.
“Oppa!” whispered Yeri.
“Hmmm?”
“How do you find eonnie?”
“Juhyeon-ssi?”

“Neh~ You’ve been with her all day yesterday. What do you think of her?”
“She’s very peaceful, kind, simple, caring, gentle and---”
“And very beautiful? Like an angel?”
“I was about to say very young-looking but yeah, you’re right..”
“Want to know a secret about her? Just promise me you won’t tell her that I told you” said Yeri as her cheeky grin turned into an evil smile.
“Hmmm, alright then” replied Taemin. Yeri looked around her surroundings cautiously to check if Juhyeon was around before proceeding to tell Taemin.
“She may look all heavenly, conserved, gentle and like a peaceful goddess---”
“Wae, isn’t she not?” interrupted Taemin.
“She is! Bu there's more to her than just that”
“Interesting, continue”
“But at times, when she’s with people she’s confident with, well we’re the only ones she’s comfortable with, she gets kiddy and very playful. She’s not always motherly you know. She’s like a five year old”
“Well, I mean she does look like she’s five so that’s pretty tolerable” said Taemin leading the both of them to laugh uncontrollably until they figured that Juhyeon might get suspicious if she heard laughter so they hushed themselves.
“So since you’re staying here for a while, that’s something to look forward to. IF she gets THAT comfortable with you”
“Exciting. Oh, yesterday I noticed that she’s very timid. What if she’s sad or shy how do I cheer her up? Y'know, she was kind enough to come to my rescue. Now that I guess we're friends I have to be a good friend at least in order to repay her for all the kindness” asked Taemin.
“She likes hugs, holding hands and linking arms. She’s very clingy. But that only works with us, you’re a guy, and she never talks to guys. Never approaches guys all the more. That’s why I was surprised that she opened up easily to you, we her friends even had a hard time befriending her at first. You must’ve have treated her properly, unlike those other guys outside who try to woo her the moment she leaves the house. That or, she had no choice because she had to medicate you. Anyway, if you plan to hug her, make sure she’s THAT comfortable with you or it's really needed. Or else you’re gonna cause her so much discomfort. High chances you gon’ get slapped, man”
“Woah, alrighty then” said Taemin, who was pretty much a hugger himself. Taemin started to wonder what he had or what he did for Juhyeon to instantly open up to him. He thought that maybe he was the first decent guy she actually talked to in years because according to Yeri, guys seem to bother Juhyeon a lot. Such beauty attracts so much, sometimes a bit too much. Maybe it was the thing he told her which cheered her up when she cried yesterday. He doesn’t know exactly what connected the two of them, but it made him glad to know that he was able to make such a shy girl in good terms with him.
“Also, she does get a bit insecure at times. If she does, call her by the name ‘Irene’ it makes her feel beautiful. It’s one of her nicknames” added Yeri.
“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you for the Bae Juhyeon starter pack, Yeri-ah” said Taemin.
“You’ll need it. Eonnie is a very precious person so you better treat her nice! Like I said, you’re the first guy she opened up to AND the first guy to stay alone with her here since her appa, so you better not mess up! Because you seem decent, *whispers* and handsome, I will have to entrust you with taking care of her as long as you stay here. Understand?” said Yeri whose mature and caring side was overtaking her usual cheeky and playful nature.
“Neh, kamsahamnida” said Taemin feeling honored. What Yeri told him motivated him even more to take good care of the girl who took care of him even if he was a stranger. At the same time, Yeri was also starting to see why her eonnie opened up to him. He was different. He was nice to talk to, he made sense and he seemed to be goodhearted. He captured Yeri’s interest.
“Because if you don’t, me and my 3 other eonnies will hunt you down. Trust me, you wouldn’t want to mess with us. Especially not with Joy-eonnie, she’s the real big daddy, she makes men cry” added Yeri.
“Okay, okay I get it. We’ve got a deal” Taemin said and poked Yeri’s nose, causing the little girl to giggle.
“You wanna know one more secret?”
“What?”
“Her usual nickname is ‘Baechu’ ” whispered Yeri.
“But that means….cabbage. Aigoo!” reacted Taemin. Yeri nodded at him with an evil look on her face, causing the both of them to start laughing once more. They laughed so hard that Taemin started to pound on the table.
 

“Ya mwohaeyo (hey what are you doing)?” said a sweet voice. Taemin and Yeri’s laughter was put to a stop when they looked behind and saw Juhyeon. She was looking fresher than how she looked like this morning. A few beads of water that were left on her face glistened as they trickled down her pale white skin. She was like the manifestation of a “good morning”.
“Um, uh. Ah! we were just talking about the latest episode of Saturday Night Live Korea. Park Jin Young was the special guest. He was so funny right oppa?” said Yeri while hitting Taemin’s arm with her elbow. Taemin just followed Yeri and nodded.
“Well it’s good to see the of you two are getting along after what had happened earlier” said Juhyeon then proceeded to prepare the pancake mix.
“Neh! We’re getting along too well” said Yeri while giving Taemin a delighted smirk. Taemin then gave Yeri a high-five. As Juhyeon was preparing the pancake mix, Yeri came up with a sneaky plan.
“Eonnieee?~” Yeri sweetly called on to Juhyeon.
“Yes dear?” Juhyeon replied.
“Can I sleep over toniiight?” asked Yeri.
“Sure! I love sleepovers” said Juhyeon.
“Yay! Kamsahamnida eonnie!” replied Yeri. She then went over to Juhyeon to give her a kiss on the cheek.   

“I’ll just go get my stuff from home” said Yeri. Right before she headed home, she looked at Taemin to give him a suspicious-looking wink. He didn't know what Yeri had in mind but something tells him that whatever her plan was, he was going to get involved.