"Y/N!" A loud, booming voice shakes me out of my fantasy-induced state of ecstasy.

"What now?" I groan as I snap the laptop shut. Taehyung plops down onto my bed, right across from me. "You could give me some privacy sometimes, for a change."

"I called your name at least fifty times before I came up to check on you." He shakes his head.

"Yeah, thankfully I haven't been murdered." I roll my eyes at him. But inside, I am surprised that I was not able to hear his call.

"Which dreamland had you set sail to?" He chuckles. Before I can roll my eyes at him again his face assumes a serious expression.

"I am worried about you, Y/N." He starts. I open my mouth to retort but he raises a hand to make me sit silently and listen to what shit he has to say.

"You seem to be so far away, you rarely pay any attention to what all is happening around you. You didn't even notice the lasagna I had rustled up for you the other day-"

"Umm..." I start miserably. "Look, I did notice the food. It was really very tasty-"

"Y/N." He shoots me a look. "It is pretty clear that you're distracted. Else why would you shut the laptop down as soon as I entered your room?"

"I know you have been watching porn. The level our society has slumped down to!" He gives me a disapproving look as he snaps it open, only to see my half-finished Chemistry assignment on the screen. He yanks it back shut.

"Ew. Why would I do that? Girls don't watch porn." I look at him in disbelief.

He returns the same look. "Just don't feed me that shit. Girls do watch porn, and they do it as much as us guys do, if not more."

"Wow." I mumble without interest, willing him to leave me alone in peace and tranquility. But he seems to be in no hurry to leave.

It's my fucking destiny. I remind myself as I prepare for a whole new round of questioning.

"You are in love, aren't you?" He raises an eyebrow as he bites a smirk back. "Or worse, you have a boyfriend, don't you?"

"What is worse in it?" I snap, my patience thrown out the window.

"Aww, my little baby got so touchy." He chuckles, much to my chagrin. "So, shall I take it as your final word, that you have a boyfriend?"

"I do not have a boyfriend." I shout. "You think I stand any chance, with this shy nature of mine?"

"Guys do like shy girls, especially the extroverted ones." He points out matter-of-factly. "Or it might be a kink sort of a thing, you know."

"Tell you what, I don't give a fuck." I mumble almost inaudibly before I raise my voice an octave higher. "And you shouldn't, either. I am eighteen, after all. I can do as I please."

"I am your elder brother, and I have been taking care of you selflessly, without expecting any return from your side, ever since you were twelve. I was in charge of you, I will be in charge of you. It is last and final, and you don't have a choice." He stands up and walks out of the room. Just like that.

I let out a small tsk and resume my work. It is pretty late into the night when I get a summon from Taehyung.

11.30 PM

"Come, eat dinner. It is too late." Taehyung stands at the door, not letting our eyes meet. That is how he behaves with me after we have had an argument. I find it cute, though.

"I am coming." I reply in a small voice, finishing typing the last few lines of my assignment.

"Come fast, you have to sleep soon." He says.

I look at him. He has donned an apron, a tan-colored one, which he considers to be the best among all the aprons he owns. He gives me a small smile, cute and boxy.

"C'mon, Y/N. I have been waiting for you." He urges me. I stand up from my worktable after shutting the laptop down.

"Why didn't you eat yet?" I yawn as we go down the stairs together.

"I wanted to eat with you, you know. I cooked some spaghetti for you." He bites his lip.

"As if we Koreans don't have enough types of noodles of our own." I laugh, trying to break the ice that has begun forming in its preliminary stages.

The corners of his lips curve upward into a smile as he pulls a chair out for me at the dining table.