Chapter 1

"You could guess someone's personality by just one question," I say as I walk round my elder sister, Ri Na's bed.

"And what's that?"

"Ask them if they love mountains or sea beaches," I jump as I say. "If they love sea beaches over mountains, they sure are peace-loving people that compromises for others."

Ri Na looks up at me in curiosity, "And if the person chooses mountains?"

"Then he is the hardworking one, who wants to reach the top."

Ri Na smiles and puts her phone down, "Which one do you think I am?"

I grin at her, "None. I think you are the dumb one."

Ri Na rolls her eyes at me. She is a fashion designer. My mother always wanted to have a boutique. Thanks to Ri Na who helped her have one. Now she is always busy with work.

I leave Ri Na's room before she turns the lights off to sleep. As I enter my room, I hear my phone beeping. It's a text from Jun Xi, my best friend and cousin.

Jun Xi: We are going somewhere tomorrow.

I smile at her text because she never mentions where we are going. She just says somewhere. And I, as someone who blindly trusts her, go anywhere and everywhere she takes me.

I lay down on my bed and open a folder named "Dad" in my gallery. I watch the videos I have with my dad every day. These are the only memories I have with him after he passed away two years ago. He is the one who always loved and supported me in everything.

My mother and Ri Na changed a lot after his death. We had a dog named Honey. He died a month after my dad did. Honey was fond of my dad. He couldn't take the pain of being separated from him. I miss my dad's presence more than anything else.

- - - -

"How do I look, Su Ha?" Jun Xi starts to fix her hair and her makeup as she parks her car in a non-parking area.

"I've never been here before," I say. "Why are we here?"

"I want to introduce you to someone," Jun Xi says. "He is a writer. A quiet one. I met him at the bookstore some days ago and that stupid receptionist refused to give me his address."

I tilt my head in confusion, unable to understand what she is trying to say.

Jun Xi starts scratching the back of her hand in her chin, "So I stole the information from her office."

I roll my eyes at her, "Now, we're here in front of his house without him knowing?"

Jun Xi grins, "You are right, let's go inside," Jun Xi says making her way to the only house in the whole area. I cringe at first but follow her anyway as we had difficulty finding this house on the maps.

The house looks pretty big from the outside. It has a driveway with trees and lamps on both sides of it. There's an old man watering plants in one corner near the house. He glances at us but quickly turns away to water the plants. There's a garage beside another corner of the house. Jun Xi should've parked the car in the driveway in front of the garage. It would make us look less awkward to the old man.

I am not sure about Jun Xi's taste. But this writer seems to have a good taste. The house is painted in cotton white and there are huge windows on the upstairs. The front door is bigger than it should have been and there are plants on the corners beside the front door.

I live with my sister in her apartment. I'm waiting till I graduate and get a full-time job to move out. I've always wanted to live in an apartment few blocks away from my sister but now I want to live in a house just like this one. Though I know for a fact that I wouldn't be able to afford one right after I get a job.

We take four stairs until we reach the front door. Jun Xi rings the doorbell. After a few seconds, we hear footsteps approaching. It's as if someone is running down the stairs. I wonder if the person inside is expecting someone to come. And instead of the one he expected to come, it's us who came. I wonder how is he going to hide the disappointment in his face when he sees us?

The front door opens. I glance at the person standing in front of us as he glances back at me and then Jun Xi.

He is stunning. He is in a grey full sleeve t-shirt and black cargo trouser. He has beautiful hazel brown eyes, and his hands are the most attractive part of his body. His brown hair is parted by one side and is styled back. He doesn't look disappointed like I expected him to be. But he doesn't look happy either. He keeps looking back and forth at us trying to recognize us.

Jun Xi waves her hand, "We are from the library 'Hope'. We are here to see Chen Hao."

So, this isn't Chen Hao, the guy Jun Xi likes? I sigh in relief cause I'm definitely going to write about this little crush of mine in my journal tonight.

"He is sleeping," He says, "Did you need to tell him anything?" He looks at Jun Xi and then at me.

I gasp when our eyes meet. I know I've mentioned about his hazel brown eyes before, but have I mentioned how darker his eyes look when he stares into yours? I want to take a picture of his eyes, paint it and hang it up on my wall.

"I wanted to borrow a book but it's fine. We'll come by later." Jun Xi says and pulls my arm telling me we should leave.

"Wait," A voice stops us, and we turn to face the person.

"Jun Xi?" He grins at Jun Xi and invites us in. He must be Chen Hao, who is in pajamas right now. It's late afternoon, who sleeps at this time?

Chen Hao is handsome too. And looks a lot like the man we have met before, they must be brothers. Their mouths are alike, and they are both tall.

Chen Hao introduces us to his handsome younger brother Chen Xian, who apparently owns the house. And Jun Xi introduces me to them. Chen Xian and my eyes meet a few times while Chen Hao and Jun Xi keep chatting. Talking about books, authors.

A servant brings us snacks and drinks. I look around the big living room.

The interior is everything. My favorite part of the living room is the yellow wall. There's a big, old family picture. As Chen Xian is younger than Chen Hao, I'm assuming him to be the one on his mother's lap and Chen Hao has to be the one who is sitting between their parents. The boys must have two sisters too as there are also two girls in the picture. One is in her father's lap; she looks the youngest and the other one is sitting on the edge of an arm of the sofa beside her father. She must be the eldest one, probably going to high school. The daughters look very much like the mother and the sons represent their father.

"Su Ha, I've heard that you are studying Architecture," Chen Hao says. "My brother is an architect too. You've probably heard the name of 'Li Wei interior', that's his company."

Of course, I have heard of Li Wei. That's the company I've always wanted to work in future. That's Chen Xian's company?

"He even designed this house," he says to me before turning to Chen Xian, "Why don't you show her around the house?"

Chen Xian looks my way with a smile on his face. He nudges his head toward the yellow wall I have been staring at as we both stand up. I follow him as I look around the house. There are plants literally everywhere around the house. Every corner is spotless and polished. Who would believe that two boys live here?

We stop in front of the wall. I look at the family picture again. I'm pretty sure the first one in the picture to attract everyone toward her is his elder sister. She looked drop dead gorgeous as a teenager. Chen Xian looks like a toddler. His sister is probably much older than him.

I point at the toddler sitting on his mother's lap, "Must be you, right?"

He smiles, "Yeah. Look at my gloomy face. My mother used to call me murky face while I was a kid," he says and we both laugh.

He looks at me for a second and then back at the picture, "The couple sitting here are my parents. They live abroad now," He smiles and there's excitement in his eyes. In his voice. He then points at Chen Hao, "And that's Chen Hao. He started writing from a very young age. I remember him forcing all of us to read his works," Then he points at his youngest sister, "That's Li Qyao, she lives with our parents as she is in high school now. She is a great singer." He stops.

His smile slowly fades away and his eyes instantly fill up with sadness as he points toward his eldest sister, "That's Li Wei. The eldest one among us. She died on her seventeenth birthday, five days after this picture was taken."