5 Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Suddenly, Hyojun said quietly to Kiwook, "She doesn't like anyone touching her head like that. Take your hand off."

"Oh really? Sorry."

Kiwook took his hand off her head apologetically, while Hyojun looked icily back and forth between Kiwook and Hyoyoung.

'What the heck? Purple… I mean Kiwook Oppa was touching my head and that bastard ruined it! Doesn't that idiot know I love being patted?! My own brother can't stand me becoming happy!'

When Hyoyoung pouted in frustration, Jiwoo saw it and grinned. He tapped Hyojun's shoulder and joked, "Hey, Jun~ You are acting like an annoying and overprotective older brother!"

Ignoring Jiwoo, Hyojun stood suddenly up and announced, "Let's eat. Dinner should be ready."

Hyojun started to walk towards the kitchen and Jiwoo turned to Hyoyoung and winked. Silently, he mouthed the words to her, "Your brother must be jealous."

"Jealous my ass. He's just being his usual jerk self."

Their mother must have made dinner. Hyoyoung was hungry too so she stood up as well, but she moved too fast and tripped over her own feet.

"Huh?!"

With a short scream, she fell into Kiwook's arms.

His chest was firm but warm. She could feel his body trembling very lightly and she could feel his heart beat a little faster. His arms, which were supporting her easily, felt really tense. His skin was so unusually pale that she could almost see the green veins underneath.

"A… are you ok?"

Hyoyoung heard his sweet voice whispering to her. His lips were so close to her neck that she could feel his breath.

She couldn't think clearly. At all.

"Umm… yeah, I'm ok."

She was in his arms for less than a minute, but it felt like an hour. She slowly detached herself from him and kept her head bowed. She couldn't face him, and it was obvious that she was embarrassed. Kiwook looked down at her and smiled mysteriously.

"You… you don't remember me, do you? I thought you might not, but I guess I still feel disappointed. Just a little."

At his quiet words, Hyoyoung looked up.

"Pardon?"

Kiwook grinned and patted Hyoyoung's head again.

"I remember that you like being patted like this, right? Anyway, let's go. It's dinner time."

Kiwook quickly walked to the dining room as Hyoyoung stared at him from behind in confusion.

'What is he talking about? Does he know me? He sounds as if he knows me… But from where? When? Did we meet before? If we did, why don't I remember him? There is no way I would forget such a hottie like him. I did fall very badly when I was little at a swimming pool… Did I have a concussion and lose my memory? But that was when I was only eight years old. Of course I wouldn't remember much from when I was so young. So why does that guy thinks he remembers me? Gyaaaa! I don't get it!'

Still confused, Hyoyoung walked towards the dining table and when she saw the dinner, she froze in shock.

On the giant 8-person table, all the plates were filled with greens.

"Hyoyoung, if you were already home, why didn't you come and help me? You know how busy I am, I could have used your help!"

Hyoyoung's mom nagged as she continued to hurriedly set the table. She was still wearing her work clothes, which meant that she must've dropped by just to make dinner for her son and his friends. Her mom was wearing a white blouse and a tight pencil skirt; it was definitely not a kitchen outfit.

Hyoyoung replied, "Oh, I didn't know. By the way, is this… it? Mom, is this dinner?"

Her mom looked embarrassed and apologetic at Hyoyoung's careful words. She placed a bowl of seaweed and answered her, "Well, it's just… your brother and his friends said they could only eat salads because they can't gain any weight. I was going to make other things, but they didn't want them. I even thought about baking sweet potatoes, but they said no…"

"But Mom… I get that they can't gain weight, but what about me? I am not on a diet. I need food. Did you forget that I am in grade 12? I need as much energy as possible so I can study. I mean, it's not like I'm demanding steaks every night, right? All I'm asking for is a decent meal. This dinner is not fair for me."

"Well, let's just eat this for tonight and starting tomorrow…"

Hyoyoung's mom tried to comfort her and promise better meals, but Hyojun interrupted her.

"We need to eat like this every day, Mom, but don't worry about us. We can make our own food. And you, Hyoyoung, you may be in grade 12, but you can't just eat anything and everything and let yourself go. You know how hard it is to lose weight, right? Being a senior doesn't give you an excuse to eat poorly. You should eat salad for breakfast and dinner just like us."

Hyoyoung knew her brother was right, but she still didn't like to hear it. She glared at him and sat down.

'So many different greens on the table… I didn't even realize there could be this many different types of salads.'

She didn't know where to start, so she just stared at the plates. Then suddenly, someone put a piece of chicken breast on her plate.

It was Kiwook.

"It's chicken breast. It's not much and it doesn't taste that great because it's not seasoned, but it's better than nothing, right? It's mine but you can have it. I'm sorry that you have to eat like this; it's all our fault."

Kiwook shredded the meat himself for her so she could eat it with her salad. No one was paying attention to her because they were busy eating their own meals, but Kiwook seemed to care for her.

She was slowly eating the chicken breast salad and thinking about her situation when suddenly, Jiwoo looked up from his cellphone and announced in a serious tone.

"Umm… A scandal just broke out on the internet about us."

The table became very quiet.

"A scandal?"