___

Haknyeon stayed downstairs the next morning, watching a movie as he continued waiting for Chisoo to wake up. He had already been awake for three hours, and noon was creeping up. He was so anxious that the movie he was watching sounded like mumbling in the background.

"She's okay." He told himself, yet he knew something was wrong. Chisoo was an early bird, she was always awake before him.

Yet here he was, waiting for her to wake up.

She was probably just exhausted and was finally getting some sleep. It wasn't like she got the luxury of rest every night, and if she was just sleeping, he didn't want to bother her whatsoever.

He closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. He needed to chill out and stop assuming that something bad was happening to his little sister.

The lock on the front door clicked and it swung open. Haknyeon hopped up and looked at his parents as they looked around.

"Is Chisoo up?"

"No," he shook his head. "But something happened to Chisoo while you were gone."

His father sighed. "Of course something happened the one night we go on a business trip."

"What happened?" Mrs. Ju questioned.

"Dajung pushed her into the road," Haknyeon paused. "In front of a moving car."

"Oh my god," his mother gasped. "Is she hurt? Is she okay?"

"She didn't get hit, but she was terrified." Haknyeon said.

"Dajung is the girl who kicked up the investigation because of those fliers she made, right?" Mr. Ju asked.

Haknyeon nodded and watched his parents share a glance as they headed to the kitchen. "We'll take care of it, Hak. Thank you."

The boy stayed on the couch for a moment longer, before he finally gave in to his worry and went upstairs to Chisoo's room. He put his ear to the door and didn't hear anything for a moment, but as soon as he reached for the doorknob, he heard a quiet cry.

And he would let her cry, only because he knew it was her favorite way to get her emotions out.

Chisoo felt the same way she did when she woke up and realized she was the only survivor. She didn't want to get up, she couldn't find an appetite, she didn't even want to be awake. She just wanted to see her family, but all she could do was try to remember everything about them to make up for that absence.

She wanted to sleep her day away and hope that she would feel better when she woke up.

She had a massive headache, probably from sitting in her dark room and staring at the wall all day. She was too busy wondering what the universe had against her to care about the light switch across the room.

"Chisoo?"

The girl shut her eyes and forced herself to face the door. "Yeah?"

"Dinner is ready," Haknyeon said through the door. "Are you hungry?"

Was it already dinner time? Chisoo wasted that much of her day away?

"I'm not hungry. Thanks."

He mumbled a quiet, sad 'okay' and walked away. Chisoo suddenly felt stuffy in her own bedroom. Was she hot? Did she need some air?

She decided she would go on a walk to clear her head. She needed to get out of this house anyway. She put a hoodie and some sweatpants on, knowing the wind would bite at her skin otherwise.

She went downstairs, and being in habit of telling her parents where she was going, she popped her head into the kitchen. "Thank you for offering dinner, but I'm going on a walk to get some air."

Everyone at the table nodded, not really wanting to say anything. Chisoo looked absolutely drained, and she hadn't looked that way since the first time they met her.

The girl slipped her shoes on and walked out into the cold. It was dark, but the streetlights were bright enough to give her a safe path to walk across. It was a certain time of day where traffic wasn't too heavy, and for that, Chisoo counted her very rare blessings.

She could see her breath as she walked, which reminded her of how alive she was. She didn't necessarily feel like she deserved to live, especially when her family was taken so quickly, and in the same incident.

The only question that played over and over again was, "Why me?"

She sighed as she came up on a cross walk, and not being brave enough to conquer it, she just stood there and looked to the other side. She watched a few people come out of the small convenience store on the corner, laughing with one another.

She wanted to be carefree again.

She put the hood of her hoodie up as she went to walk away, but a certain pair of eyes made her stop in her tracks. But it didn't take her long to walk away from him.

"Chisoo, wait!"

She had no intention of waiting for the boy, but he was quick, and he stopped her with a gentle hand around her wrist.

"How are you doing?" Sangyeon asked.

"After almost getting hit by a car because of a psycho? Great," she smiled sarcastically. "How are you doing after watching that go down?"

His shoulders slumped. "So you are mad about that?"

"Yes, I'm mad," she furrowed her eyebrows. "I was starting to consider you a friend, Sangyeon. Then you stood next to Hayoon and watched his crazy girlfriend push me into the road. What kind of friend does that?"

"Crazy ex-girlfriend." He quickly corrected.

Chisoo scoffed as angry tears came out of nowhere. "That was your biggest concern out of everything I just said?"

"No," he shook his head and finally let go of her wrist. "I'm sorry, Chisoo. Me being shocked isn't an excuse, but it shocked me that she would even do that."

The girl stared at him for a moment before looking away from him with a shake of her head. She wiped her eyes and even he knew that she was disappointed in him, and that made his chest tighten.

"You wanted to be friends so bad, remember?" She tilted her head and he nodded slowly in response. "This is strike two. Strike three, and I won't even look at you. I'm good at keeping my circle small, so don't think I won't act like you don't exist."

She walked away, and Sangyeon was starting to question whether or not being friends with her was a good idea. He was an imperfect human, and Chisoo didn't like mistakes.

But it wasn't so much mistakes she disliked.

It was the feeling of being betrayed by those she thought could be trusted.

Chisoo trudged through her front door and she heard Younghoon's voice first. She perked up and started looking for him, and she wondered why he had that effect on her.

She knew, and reiterated to herself often, that it wasn't because she had a romantic bond with him. She figured it was because he knew her before tragedy struck, and he still had that piece that she was now missing. He had the memory of her that she missed seeing in herself.

After failing to find him downstairs, Chisoo figured he was with Haknyeon and decided to leave them alone. So she went to her room and chose not to shut the door - she was tired of being alone. At least having her door open would entice anyone who walked by to say something to her.

And it worked.

"Chisoo, you're back," Younghoon leaned against the doorframe. "Holding up okay?"

She flattened her lips and shrugged. "Not really, but time heals, I guess."

Chisoo waved him in, and he shut the door behind him. He sat across from her, and she wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned into his chest.

"Thank you for coming back," she mumbled. "I know it wasn't right for me to stop talking to you the way I did. It was nice of you to not bring it up."

Younghoon couldn't help but feel like they had this conversation before, and it made him realize how guilty Chisoo felt. "I knew why you did, and I wasn't going to be mad about that. You know I'll always be here."

"I know, but I do have a question," his hum in response encouraged her to continue. "You and I aren't romantic or anything, right?"

He looked down at her with a small smile on his face. "I didn't think so. Affection was always your way of showing someone you cared."

"But I don't go around kissing everyone I care about, you know?"

"I know," he chuckled. "Do you want to be romantic, or are we just overly affectionate?"

"Overly affectionate is fine with me," she nodded to herself. "I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page."

He brought her closer as she buried her head back into his chest. "We are. Don't worry."

But Younghoon couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He knew it was too soon for her, but his heart would always beat a little faster when she was around.

But he was a good person, and he would suck it up and respect every boundary she had.

Because that was what she deserved.

___