"Oh, noona."

"Good morning," Hyun Ae greeted, transferring the eggrolls she had cut up onto a plate.

Still feeling sleepy, Hyun Wook sat down on one of the stools and grabbed a pair of chopsticks beside him, picking up a piece of his breakfast. As he was chewing on his food, he kept on yawning.

Hyun Ae chuckled as she noticed it while pouring the coffee into a mug and brought it to him before asking, "late-night call with her?"

"N-No?"

"Yeah right," she paused, clasping her hands together before she let out a high-pitched chuckle. "I miss you so much! I hope there will be a day when we'll hang out together alone, cuddling in a warm blanket. Tell me that was not cringy."

Hyun Wook turned red, almost choking on his breakfast, but he was quick to gulp his coffee and calmed himself down.

"How could you?!" he whined.

"Hey, I overheard you! I was in the kitchen to get a drink and then there's you, I don't know, maybe in the library on call-"

"Fine!" he mumbled, picking up another eggroll and eating it, still pouting.

"Aww... Look at my little brother. Blushing," Hyun Ae giggled before she turned around and grabbed a lunchbox. "Before you get to work, take this-"

"You even made him lunch? You never make one for me," he mumbled.

"You're right. I should make one for him. Or maybe the whole group," she thought, sliding the lunchbox to him. "This one's for you, silly. You're my little brother, I still need to take care of you."

Hyun Wook was a bit touched after hearing it, so he immediately jumped off his seat, ran toward his big sister, and hugged her from behind.

"Oi! What's with the sudden hug?! Let me go, you stinky boy!" Hyun Ae nagged, slapping his arms repeatedly but he just won't let her go.

"I hope he's the one, noona. I hope he is," he mumbled. "You need someone who can take care of you, like how you would take care of me."

"Let's hope for that. But... I don't know."

"Noona?" he called out as she pushed his arms away and turned to him.

"I mean, he's an idol. A celebrity. You know how hard it is for him to be in a relationship," she softly chuckled.

"What do you mean?"

"What if one day we have to break up anyway?"

"No, don't think it like that. I'll talk to him, don't worry."

"No, you don't need to-"

"I must!"

"No, Hyun Wook! Listen to me," Hyun Ae whispered as she grabbed his hands. "You've heard it before. If you really love someone, there's this one time... Where you must let them go," she smiled, staring down at his hands. "That will happen anytime soon. And I'm always ready."

***

Namjoon walked down the pathway toward the front door of the Nova House and as he reached the door, Hyun Ae opened it from inside.

But she doesn't look okay to him.

"Hey- Are you okay?" he asked, approaching her.

"It's just..." she grunted, hands against her abdomen area as she felt another sharp pain.

"Hey, hey!"

He immediately placed his arms around her body, supporting her as he walked her toward the living area and placed her down on the sofa.

"You need anything? Tell me now," he inquired, caressing her hair.

"Can you get me that? On that countertop," she murmured, pointing her hand towards the kitchen area. Namjoon glanced over it and found a heating pad.

He brought it over to her and she placed it over her abdomen, letting out a satisfied groan.

"What else do you need?" he asked again.

"Get me... My chocolate bar in the fridge," she grunted as she looked up at him.

"Huh?"

"I need food. I want food."

"Really?"

"When a girl is on her period, her mood can swing around," she reminded him, giving him a moody look.

"Ahahaha. Fine. I'll take it for you," he whispered, before placing a kiss on her head.

He headed to the fridge and looked for the candy bar in a very short time.

"Here you go," he said, as he landed beside her on the sofa. She grabbed the chocolate, but then she placed it on the small round table beside her and immediately flung her arms around him.

"Oh? Suddenly?" he chuckled, scooting closer to her as she leaned against his shoulder.

"Suddenly, I wanna hug you," she mumbled. She felt his arm making its way around her, so she moved closer to his body, and dug her face into his chest when her tears began to wet his shirt.

"W-Why are you crying?"

"I don't know, I just..." she stuttered, sniffing as her hug tightened. "Why..."

"Tell me, what is it?" Namjoon whispered, asking with curiosity building up in him.

Hyun Ae kept on sniffing, her fingers drawing circles on the back of his hand in silence. Namjoon leaned forward a bit and noticed her puffy eyes, knowing that she had been crying even before he was there.

"Every time I hug you, there's this one feeling... Like... Like..." she paused, shaking her head, and wiped her tears away.

"Calm down first," he softly uttered, placing a kiss on her head. "Let it all out."

"E-Every time I hug you, I felt like... you're going to slip away from me."

When she said it, Namjoon felt like there were pieces of him that began to break from inside. He'd never thought that someone that he knew was strong could tear up at these kinds of thinking.

"I felt like... I'm going to lose you anytime soon. And this time... it feels like... I'm losing you for a long time. For a very, very long time."

"What are you talking about?" he mumbled, pulling her into a hug, hopefully enough for her to feel protected.

"I don't know, I was just... Maybe it's just my..."

"I will never let you go. Trust me. Look at me," he said, turning her to face him.

They faced each other, and Namjoon let his hand caress her hair, as softly as he could.

"If things happen, I will never, ever let you go. Even if..." he halted, suddenly feeling like something choked him, but then he continued. "If we break up, I will still look for you. May it take days, weeks, months, or even years! I don't want anyone else. Only you. Just you."

He let his fingers interlace with her slender ones, before placing kisses on her knuckles and then looked back at her.

"When the time comes, I'll propose to you."

"Whoa wait," Hyun Ae chuckled, her brows furrowed when he mentioned that one specific word. "Are you serious? Like, deadly serious?"

"Yes. If that's the only way to keep you with me."

"Take your time. Don't rush it. You got more things to do in the future," she giggled as she kissed his cheek. "I still want you to be my idol."

"I will, baby. I will," he laughed, pulling her closer to him and they ended up cuddling on the sofa. It was a very nice, quiet environment as they went silent for a few minutes before Namjoon cleared his throat.

"Hey, are you free this weekend?" he asked.

"Yes, why?"

"Let's go out."

"Really? But... Won't people be seeing us?"

"So? Let them be. I don't want to hide it anymore. I'm going to tell the world that you're mine. And no one else can have you. Just me alone."

"Fine," Hyun Ae laughed, poking his dimple as he showed it to her.

Will you really stay with me?

********************************************************
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