"hey, give it back you meanie!"

jeno giggles and sticks his tongue out, running away from a babbling sooyoung. she chases him on chubby legs just starting to lose their baby fat, screaming and giggling as the two of them tried to keep the doll away from each other.

mr. and mrs. lee share a fond smile, mrs. lee's head tucked into the crook of his neck, his arms wrapped around her in a protective embrace as they watched their children enjoy those precious moments of life that they would look back on with nostalgia at weddings in the future.

weddings where mom, dad, and - 

"serena? hey, are you awake?" serena vaguely registers that her brother is in her room, sitting on her bed and shaking her awake. he had done that every single day when they were kids. jeno insisted that his little princess couldn't wake up without her knight. 

he was her knight. he promised that he would keep all the bad things away from her and fight all the evil dragons (neighborhood boys that seemed have a little fancy for her) from taking the princess away.

"yeah, yeah, i'm awake," serena says with a tired smile, shifting up to sit in her bed upright. they pause, sitting there for a moment, before she says, "it was pancreatic cancer, you know." 

jeno looks up in shock. 

"what do you mean it was cancer? but mom was so healthy! all those diets, juices, detoxes," jeno rattles off, unable to understand how someone as healthy as his mother had been hit with cancer. serena sighs, pulling the covers closer.

"yeah. it's mostly because of grandpa; remember how he used to drink every single day? doctors say it was heredity," she says, chewing on her lip before deciding to continue. "she chose not to get treated. said she didn't want to continue her life by half-assing it. we found out it was pretty late in the game and there was pretty much nothing she could've done anyway. her only wish was to make it up to you and dad before she died."

her brother is silent, having heard the tremor in her voice. he doesn't need to look at her to know she's crying, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. jeno only hesitates for a split-second before enveloping his sister in his arms and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

he hated seeing her cry, even when they were just children. he would do anything and everything to keep a smile on her face, one time going as far as to nearly break his neck on the trampoline in attempt to get his baby sister to smile. 

"i just can't say goodbye, jeno. i can't," she sobs into his chest, her slim arms wrapping tight around his waist.

"i know, soo, i know."

none of them go to school for the next two weeks. not jeno, not serena, not jaemin, not even their father. they just sit at home and reminisce on all the good things they had experienced with mrs. park. serena and jeno talked about the good and the bad, but at least in front of their dad, they just spoke about good memories, sharing knowing looks with jaemin whenever he stopped by.

mr. park and shaun come by once in a while. they sit and chat, talking about their life in america with mrs. park before shaun's diabetes kicks in, putting him promptly to sleep and therefore cueing mr. park into knowing it was time to leave.

serena was spending less and less time at her other home, most often not finding the energy to migrate to the other home. she missed her brother, and bruno, and mr. park. but for some reason, it just...didn't feel right anymore.

it didn't feel like she fit. it felt like her mother was the only thing that kept her attached to be a part of that family. she loved them, she really did, but she was starting to realize a lot of things in her mother's absence and this was just one of them.

she didn't belong in that family. she could love them and they could love her. but she didn't belong there. not anymore. 

another thing she realized was that jeno was reverting into how he used to be, back when they were children and nothing had ever forced them apart. quiet, but less sullen. a little more protective over her, and a lot more soft with her.

he was there for her when she woke up screaming in the middle of the night because of a nightmare that forced her to relive her mother's death. he was there for her when their father would hold them tight and pray to the lords that nothing would separate them at the funeral service for their mother. and he was there for her when jisoo started coming around again.

"you know i really like your brother, right?" the girl in front of her asks, refusing to break eye contact. serena sighs, sitting down on the ground across from jisoo.

"i know. it's just that...as his manager, i don't know if he can handle another responsibility right now, especially with the...loss of our mom so fresh in his mind. as his sister, call me a selfish bitch, but i don't want anyone new around him. anyone that could change him back into the jeno he was when i met him." serena's aware that she's possibly oversharing and definitely rambling, but she's stubborn like that so she just holds her ground and fixes her brother's suitor with a decisive gaze.

jisoo smiles softly, a smile she barely ever saw on the third-year if it wasn't at her brother. there's something else that serena hadn't said that was hanging in the air: your reputation says you're a slut. as horrendous as it was, it couldn't help being thought. after all, who'd want their brother to be with someone with such a reputation?

"i know. that's what i told him too, when he asked me officially, just a little over three weeks ago," jisoo says, tone and voice, soft and sweet. "i told him that he was way too busy and had too much pressure on his shoulders for me to really say yes with a good conscience."

she fiddles with her fingers, lacking the confidence she had had when she had first showed up at their door and practically demanded (in the least offensive voice possible for her) to speak to serena. jeno had let her in with reluctance, knowing what jisoo was here for, hovering over the door to serena's room before both females had shooed him off, saying they had private things to discuss.

"but then i saw him at the funeral. the way he took care of you and your dad, making sure that everyone was okay. that his family was okay. and when he wasn't okay, you, your, dad, and jaemin looking out for him. i...i want to be a part of that. jeno's changed a lot from the angry young man i met when i came to your house for the first time with jaemin." jisoo shakes her head, almost as if she was laughing at her own stupidity as she continues. 

"and i know that as a sister, a well-wisher, and maybe even as his team manager, you have every single right to doubt me. i was with his best friend before i developed feelings for him. i've had 'things' with plenty of girls and guys. i don't really give two shits about school. and, well, i've never been exclusive with a guy before."

"you're not making your argument any stronger," serena says, raising an eyebrow. but the nuance is different from before. jisoo had no need to explain any of this to her. honestly, there was no reason her and jeno couldn't date because they were two independent adults who could make their own decisions. who was she to come and get involved in their relationship? jisoo had already won her over, just with her honesty.

the older girl smiles, a real smile, and grasps serena's hand tightly.

"i will never hurt your brother. i just want to be there for him. and i hope maybe, someday, i can be there for you too. in a different way, but still," she says. serena doesn't respond, but she squeezes the hand clasped in hers and that's all they need.

outside the door, jeno lets out a deep breath, a small grin creeping onto his face.

jaemin didn't know what he was expecting when he arrived at the lee apartment on that saturday afternoon, but jisoo tucked into jeno's side definitely wasn't it.

he knew jeno and jisoo were dating (jisoo had come to him to make sure he was alright with it first), but he hadn't expected them to be so...gentle. 

when it had been jisoo and jaemin, it'd been so different. so rough. so passionate. maybe it was all just lust, but there had been a fire between the two of them. 

jisoo and jeno were so soft. gentle. sweet. it was a good look on both of them. for some reason, it almost reminded jaemin of how jeno had been in the beginnings of their friendship, back when they were eight years old. 

"they're cute, aren't they?" asks a voice behind him. jaemin turns around to see serena, wearing one of jeno's old jerseys and jean shorts, a soft look in her eyes.

"yeah. i'd never thought either of them was the cute type though," he says with a lopsided grin, depositing the ice cream he had brought into the younger girl's arms. 

"come on, let's go to my room," she says, leading jaemin into her room. no matter how many times he had visited, that had been the one place he wasn't allowed into. whenever they hung out, it was always in the living room (which was currently occupied by jisoo and jeno), the kitchen (coach lee was attempting to look for alcohol; he wouldn't find any because jeno, jaemin, jisoo, and serena had teamed up to throw it away slowly so that he wouldn't notice), or jeno's room (currently serving as a pigsty). 

"lee sooyoung, that door better stay open at all times or i whoop your ass!" jeno calls from the other room.

"i'm not gonna stop him!" coach lee exclaims, in support of his son's sentiments. there's a distant sound of a high-five, as if to punctuate the argument.

serena rolls her eyes, and for the first time in just over two and a half weeks, she allows herself to smile. really, truly smile. 

and that's when jaemin realized that he wanted to see her smile like that all the damn time.

+++

a/n: heehhehehhehehheh i'm way too excited over my own fucking story oops 🙊 but this chapter honestly owns my heart for many different reasons!!! 

we finally get soft!jeno, serena finally starts letting people call her sooyoung, jisoo and jeno get together (!!!), and most importantly, mr. na jaemin starts realizing his feelings for our serena (!!!!!!!!)

i hope y'all have a great day today and i love love love love love love you!!!