Another journey of three hours. Seokjin had to admit he was tired. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t stay up to drive.

He checked on Jiah through her seat’s rear view mirror. Her eyelids were blinking slowly, her lips frowned, and her hair was a bit messy due to the friction behind her head and the head rest. He found it amusing that his lips curved a grin on his face.

“You can sleep if you want,” he said.

“Huh?” she inattentively responded.

He laughed and repeated, “you can sleep if you want.”

“Oh. Oh, no. I’m fine,” she said, fixing her sitting position as she inhaled a deep breath. She blinked her eyes hard once before widening them. “I’m fine!”

Her behavior got him amused. “I know you’re tired. Take a nap. I’ll wake you up once we arrive.”

“Do you know the way to my house?” she asked.

“I wouldn’t ask you to type your address on the GPS if I don’t,” he said.

Jiah sealed her lips tight, humming. “I’m wide awake. We should have talked so we wouldn't get sleepy.”

“I know, right.”

The silence grew louder in the car instead. They had not talked since the moment they entered the car. With two of them together, it was unusual since they never had nothing to talk about.

He couldn’t help but to suspect. After he left the girls' room, he returned and stayed in one spot for a long period of time. He made footsteps noises to fool them into thinking he moved. Then, he heard what Joohee said. It could be Joohee the reason for Jiah’s silence.

“Did Joohee talk to you before she sleeps?” he asked, trying to break the ice.

He caught a glimpse of Jiah’s big eyes trembling while looking at the dashboard. She buzzed and said, "oh no, she didn’t. She fell asleep after you left." 

Seokjin smirked, chuckling as if she didn’t lie. “She must’ve been tired.” 

“She danced for us and ran around,” Jiah said, grinning.

“Right!” He looked at her through the tails of his eyes, wondering if it was wrong to tell the truth that Joohee was shipping them or if Jiah was too shy to tell about that. ‘She’s cute,’ he thought.

**********

In the small room, Hoseok rested at the end alone. Jimin and Jungkook were also in the room, sleeping side by side. One of Jungkook’s legs on Jimin’s stomach. Jimin snored with his mouth open and his hand on the younger's face.

Jungkook and Jimin often quarreled when there were no customers. Thus, their sleeping position reminded him that they looked like they were wrestling even in their sleep. ‘The wall looks more interesting,’ he thought. He changed his view to the wall. The blankness of the wall drew him to the memory of that day.

The scene from that morning became a highlight. He remembered seeing Jiah talked to Joohee with two pieces of Choclairs on her palm. She didn’t force her. It was a slow approach, wouldn’t make anyone feel scared. It felt so right.

Comparing with Jiah and Wheein’s first time meeting the children, he remembered Wheein had a hard time getting close with the children because of her appearance; Jisoo made a baby cry and he didn’t know why. They kept trying to get close with the children, but it took so much longer than Jiah had. 

He wondered if she had used the same charms on him. When he remembered his first online chat with Jiah, he grabbed his phone beside the pillow. Her status was online while he reread their brief chats. Assuming she might be online late to chat with someone, he ignored it.

He was asking for two slices of Tiramisu cake through the chat. Reading, reading and reading it. It dawned on him that her happy emoticon explained so much about her. The nasally tone of her voice, the accent he found adorable.

The swaying of her body. That was something she usually did when she stood in front of him, trying to come up with something to say. Her smile was contagious that there was an extent of contentment inside him. His lack of response would often frustrate anyone. But Jiah behaved otherwise, often waiting patiently. The look on her face when she heard the answer to her question said it all. No complaints or grumbles.

Her giggle. When she talked with the girls at the store, when she played with the children that evening. For no apparent reason, it always tickled his stomach and made him turn to look at her. 

It had been months since Jiah started working. There was a small development in getting used to her presence, yet he still liked his time alone more. He appreciated that Jiah didn’t come to his office without a reason, unlike Seokjin who would push him to leave his office and socialize. Even though he had been one quiet boy, he had to admit he had been cursing Seokjin in his mind.

-----

Jiah

You awake?

-----

The abrupt appearance of his assistant’s message startled him. His phone fell on his face, making him groan and cry without tears. He grabbed his phone away from his face and lifted it to see.

Something new appeared on his screen. The mysterious response from his side flustered him. “What the hell?” he whisper-yelled. He didn’t remember replying 'yes' to Jiah. 

There was a long typing bubble next, making his hand to palm his face as he groaned, "ugh!"

-----
 

Jiah

You awake?

yes

| Seokjin will be picking up you
and the boys early tomorrow.
Please wake up and prepare
before the children wake up. He
also wants you to plan the
holiday. Doesn’t matter when.

| not the right time.
| too busy without amber

Ok :(

-----

After receiving her reply, he stared at his messages. It seemed that he had become more open with Jiah and he knew that.

Bit by bit, the idea to keep disliking her dissolved.

**********

What else could Seokjin expect if it wasn’t more excuses from the young boss? It wasn’t time to sigh at Hoseok’s stubbornness. This time, he thought that it was better to give in. He didn’t want more stress, not when his sister’s issue hadn’t been solved.

Before they reached Jiah’s home, she had assured him that she would coax Hoseok. The burden on his shoulders felt lighter. And at that moment, his mind drifted to something else. He was thinking of a way to get his sister fired. It was only a matter of working on it in silence and getting Jisoo away from Seoul. He didn’t care if he was going to be labelled as the antagonist in his sister’s life.

She needed to understand he had reasons for choosing to make her life hell. The person she chose to be in a relationship wasn’t a smart choice to begin with. He opinionated; if his sister opted to date one of the staff of the boutique, he would approve if it was Jimin.

Last time, before he talked with Amber via video call, he had an unexpected scene in the boutique’s pantry. What could have happened if it wasn’t him who witnessed it?

 In the pantry, Jisoo was kissing someone. A long, deep kiss on the lips. And he wasn’t happy.

 He had to bring both of them to the back of the building to prevent anyone from hearing them talking. Triggered, he yelled at his sister and her lover.

She was angry at him. Never before had they been so serious when they yelled at each other. “I don’t care! I don’t need you to tell me who I should date.” Then, she stomped into the store and he could hear her whimpering. Her lover followed her from behind, only giving him a quick glance.

 It was one a.m. when he reached home. Seokjin pulled the car’s brake after parking the car outside their house’s gate. He rested his arm on the door and propped his head on the hand, releasing a tired breath.

 Perhaps, instead of Jisoo, maybe he could get her lover fired.

 He stepped into his house, finding his mother and sister watching a Hollywood action movie on the television. He wasn’t in the mood to talk, so he walked past them.

He only stopped swaying his legs when he heard his sister say, “oh, my brother. You’re back!” He assumed she wanted to tell him something regarding what happened at the boutique, so he placed both of his soles on the floor. With a smile, his sister appeared in front of him and asked, “how are the kids? Are they doing well?”

 A sharp yet lazy stare bore into Jisoo, evaporating her smile. Rolling his eyes and walking past her, he bumped her shoulder.

 Their mother who had been watching the scene scoffed, "tch, tch, tch. Kim Seokjin!” The door to Seokjin’s room clicked. Mrs. Kim said, “I’m going to scold him tomorrow, I’m serious.”

 “It’s okay, mom,” he heard his sister said, dejected. “My brother’s tired.”