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| December 25th, Friday, 2020 |

"Hyoseop...what are you doing here?"

Annie forced an awkward smile.

"Is that him?"

Her brother approached them with a subtle smirk on.

A few more steps and he was standing in front of Lee Know, who quickly spared a glance at the girl beside him.

"Are you dating my sister?"

"Hyoseop!"

"Yes."

He answered firmly, getting the elder surprised.

"Ohh! I see you're confident! And you're very handsome too! I feel like we could get along. You should keep him, An."

"Hyoseop!!!"

She cried out, embarrassment filling her existence.

Her boyfriend, on the other side, let out a chuckle.

"Thank you! I'm Lee Minho. I've seen a few of your dramas, actually, it's an honour to meet you."

"Ah, really? That's nice to hear! So, I heard you're in a group, what's the name?"

"We're called Stray Kids!"

"Oh! You're from that group too?"

"Yep, actually, a funny story..."

Annie stared in silence while the two started talking as if they had been friends for years, completely ignoring her presence. She shook her head, getting a drink and standing in front of the two. Knowing her brother, if she didn't stop them now, they'd end up talking for hours.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry to interrupt you two, but we need to help Mrs. Park with lunch."

The boys looked down at her, slightly bummed that their conversation was interrupted.

"Who's Mrs. Park?"

Hyoseop asked.

"The owner- right. What are you even doing here?"

Annie crossed her arms. Hyoseop had only been to the shelter once or twice, and that was to drop her off, he never volunteered.

"I came to adopt a cat!"

The couple smiled widely to themselves, as if they had just won an award – well, they did just receive very good news.

"That's amazing!! Should I take you to see them after lunch?"

"I'd love that!"

She watched as the two interacted.

"Someone might think you two are the ones dating..."

Annie mumbled, shaking her head and walking towards the door.

Deep inside, though, the girl was thrilled about this situation. Spending Christmas with her boyfriend, her brother and kittens, is there anything else to ask for?

● ● ● ● ●

"Thank you so much for the help, kids. And Haerim! You should bring this handsome gentleman more often, it's very nice to work with him around!"

The old lady smiled at the actor, who laughed shyly in return.

"He's a busy guy, but I'll see what I can do."

"Have a great night, Mrs. Park!"

Lee Know bowed, followed by the other two.

After the lady walked back inside the building, all three seemed like they had something to say, but were too scared to do so.

Annie wanted to send her brother away and spend a few hours with her boyfriend only. The latter was tempted to do the same, but at the same time he didn't want to do that after meeting his brother-in-law for the first time. Hyoseop, on the other hand, had very different intentions.

"Do you perhaps have plans for now?"

He asked the male.

"Not really..."

"Great! Why don't we eat dinner at my house?"

Annie let out a quiet gasp. Was her brother finally inviting someone to their house?

Hyoseop always refused to bring other people to their house, as he felt uncomfortable doing so. It was the place where the two grew up and he didn't feel like having just anyone there. If he had to shoot something or invite colleagues over, he'd do it at the house he had bought himself.

With that said, him inviting Lee Know over, who he had just met a few hours ago, meant he had a really, really good feeling about the idol.

"Is that okay?"

He looked back and forth between the siblings.

"Of course! That would be amazing."

"Let's go, then. I'll drive."

Hyoseop spoke, already turning to get his dark blue SUV.

"Woah...his car is so nice..."

She heard the boy whisper.

"Get in!"

The couple hopped on the backseats and put their seatbelts on.

Even though the elder wanted to complain about how it looked like he was their driver since no one was on the passenger's seat, he gave up on doing so after seeing the smiles on their faces.

Intriguingly, there wasn't much talking during the ride. Hyoseop was focused on the street and the two at the back were enjoying the view. His house wasn't that far away though, so it took them less than twenty minutes to be in front of the door.

"Welcome to the Ahn's hideout!"

Annie cheered.

"Hideout?"

"Haerim stays at the dorm and I have my own house, so we don't often come here...it's also good to hide from reporters since no one knows about it."

The girl glanced shocked at him, questioning with her eyes why he would reveal that.

What's up with him today? Why is he being so open with Lee Know?

"Well, I'll go take a shower, you two do whatever you want."

Hyoseop immediately regretted saying such a thing after noticing the kids' expressions.

"Anything family friendly, oh my God!"

The two blushed as he jogged to his suite.

"We- we weren't thinking about that!"

Annie tried to clear things up, even though she knew it was useless.

"Weren't you?"

Lee Know formed a grin.

"Of course not! My brother is here!"

She stomped to the kitchen.

"Oh? So you would've done it back at the shelter if he hadn't shown up?"

He followed.

"Done what? Stop being a pervert!"

Annie bent down to grab the flour pot.

"You're cute."

"And you're a menace. Stop fooling around and help me with this."

He gasped, she laughed.

Annie was finally getting used to his teasing behaviour, and, honestly, she couldn't be happier about it. After all, that meant she'd now be able to do the same with him.

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