2:46 pm in the afternoon, the bright shining rays of the sun blocked by the thick fabric of the curtains refusing to welcome the light to shine inside the empty space. The area invaded by the cold air coming from the ac setting up a brooding and cold mood. The raven haired teen sitting from a far corner of the room, glanced at her brother's figure all covered up by pile of thin blankets and soft pillows. For the past two hours, Ni-ki shed his tears crying over the story that led to his mother's passing. Just by staring at the picture of her tomb was already painful and difficult enough to handle but being informed about the narrative cause made him experience such grief.

Konon slowly walked up to her brother and went to lay down beside him. As soon as her body meets the soft mattress, she pulled the comforter over her, shielding herself from the cold temperature. From there she was able to hear Ni-ki's faint whimpers and sniffles. Even with his face hidden, the raven can tell that his eyes were swollen red with conspicuous stain of tears leaving marks on his cheeks.

"You are such a crybaby." all these years growing up together, never has she caught her brother crying like this. He was never the type to show his sorrow in front of anyone, also it was so rare to see him cry that not even a single member of his team - except Takara, was able to catch a glimpse of him shedding a few tears whether he was feeling the sense of joy or despair. If someone were to mistaken him as a robot, Konon wouldn't be surprised at all. "Riki, can I tell you something?"

The boy remained quiet. He was not in the mood to start a conversation especially when all he could think of is his mother. Not initially in need of his permission, Konon went on caring less about the situation he's in right now. "We have a little sister, here in Korea. . . . she's alive."

"Or dead"

"Don't be like that Riki, you can't be sure since you haven't met her yet-"

"And how can you be sure as well? Did you video chat her before coming here to Korea? Were you and dad hiding her from me after all these years?" the way he spoke made Konon sigh in disbelief. She always hated this sarcastic side of his. If the condition they were currently in was far from deep, Konon would have taken this chance to strangle her own brother. As for Ni-ki, he couldn't believe that his sister was already talking about another family member when the news about their mother's passing obviously affected him big time but why does it sound like Konon feels so unbothered by it. She should be weeping alone in her room by now.

"Himiko Haku."

"Huh?" Ni-ki sat up giving her sister an alarmed look.

"Himiko Haku is Katsumi Nishimura."

Shocked at the unexpected revelation, the boy did not wait for another minute and rushed out of his room, stubbing his toe during the process. He briskly and carelessly went down the stairs causing him to miss the last three steps which resulted to him harshly falling down onto the living room floor however that minor accident was nothing compared to his burning desire to see his little sister. Konon was too surprised at the sudden burst of energy he possessed that she even found amusement at his own recklessness.

As the boy was about to step out of the house, his phone vibrated out of the blue. He instantly opened his message box and saw a text from a close friend of his.

From: Shio Akane

To: Nishimura Riki

Good Day to you, Nishimura
Riki! You are hereby invited to
Shio Akane's, Up All Night slumber
party that is to be held this Friday
at Shio Residence. 6:00pm in
the evening. Don't be late ;)
sent ✓

"This is relationship is not working out very well between us."

"Okay so?"

"Let's breakup."

"And who the fuck said that we were even together at the first place? You're not even my type."

Nina playfully pushes Saeyoung's shoulder. "You're no fun! It was just a dramatic joke Harleen Quinnzel." a typical day at the typical mall, after all the drama that has happened, Nina decided to take her friend out and chill. All those boy problems and problematic scenes life has to give them really scheduled a back to back appointment with Saeyoung - which gave less time for her to bond and look out for her friends who too is missing her presence at the background. Especially now that final exams are coming in and summer is just around the corner.

On they're way to a nearby japanese restaurant, Nina accidentally bumps into a girl who looked so booked sending messages rather than paying attention to where she was going. Talking about phone freaks. "Oh My Goodness, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" being the first to stand on her foot, she and Saeyoung immediately tended to the brunette and assisted her to stand right up back to her feet.

"Forgive me! I wasn't looking -" the brunette gaped once her gaze landed to the girl standing beside the japanese-american. "Saeyoung? R-Roh Saeyoung?"

Saeyoung glanced at Nina who was busy smiling at the brunette they crashed right into. Is something going on? Is there something she should know? Saeyoung was puzzled. She has never met this girl in her entire life. "Y-Yes that's me. I'm sorry but do I know you?"

The brunette was taken aback from her response. "You don't remember me? I'm Shio Akane! The girl you saved from Ganhyu! Hello?"

"Oh so you were that girl from before! Nice to meet you." the two shook hands. "Again." Saeyoung chuckled, she honestly feels clueless on what to say. It has been months and she never really thought of seeing her again after the incident, more likely she wasn't expecting to bump into her anytime soon. They weren't even close.

"So Akane, what are you doing here? I thought you were at home preparing for Friday's party."

"Party?" Saeyoung questioned.

Akane nodded. "Slumber party! Actually I am here to get my party stuff you know? Party Poppers, Confetti, Drinks, Ingredients for my maids to use and so on. Nina, you received my invitation via text right?"

"Yep."

Akane clapped in excitement. "Good!" she then turned to Saeyoung who displayed a confused look. She looked like a lost child listening to two strangers' conversation. "How about you, Saeyoung? Did you receive my invitation?"

Now Saeyoung felt more confused than she already is. But a party does sound great if she'll think about it. The only problem is, she place no trust in Akane because who knows what type of hoolagans she invited to that party of hers. The next thing she knows, she might find herself dancing like a maniac inside. "M-Me?"

"Uhuh!" the brunette leaned in to her ear with sly grin plastered on her face. "Don't worry! I didn't invite Takara." she gave her a wink.

"Umm no I didn't receive one but. . . I-I'll think about going -"

The brunette squealed. "Great! Nina bestie, persuade her to come okay? You, Saeyoung-ie is my saviour!" she pulled her into a tight hug, the girl felt like she was suffocating while Nina decided to stand and watch while trying to hide her laugh. 

Shio Akane was such an optimistic and extroverted person. Actually if you were to ask Nina, she was one of the best people to be friends with at school. Also, probably the richest person there. Too bad she wanted to stay low-key and live a quiet high school life - far from all the attention and drama. She only discloses her true personality and background to the people she's close or comfortable with, and not even half of Adroit's students' gets to experience this sweet side of hers. It's actually such a shame, but we can't blame her now can't we?

"Any who, I'll get going now. I still have long list with me. Toodles!" she sent the two friends a flying kiss before running off to the grocery store.

A few seconds later, Saeyoung receives a text from Akane, it was the party invitation they were talking about. 

"You should come Sae, Ni-ki will come - not sure just yet, Takara won't be there and maybe. . ." Nina carefully fixes her friend's hair, a small smirk evident on her face. "Maybe you have another opportunity of kissing her boyfriend again."

Saeyoung smacked Nina's face. "Nina Makino Hillman!" 

"Roh Saeyoung, love will find it's way."

Silently spinning his fidget spinner, Ni-ki sat down at a chair near Himiko. He was informed that the girl regained consciousness four days ago and is set to take on the transplant two days from now. Ni-ki was glad to hear that Himiko was on her way to recovery. The pain she endured and all the medical operations she took on, made Ni-ki believe that she is one strong girl. It just hurts to hear that it wasn't her biological siblings who looked out for her during Himiko's hardest hours, that's why he was thankful of Soul for being such a good brother to his sister. 

Of course he showcased rude and unlikely behavior in front of him - when behind all those rivalry, he was secretly tending to Himiko's needs. Ni-ki felt so ashamed of himself that his mind instantly went to brain storm about the things he could do to show his gratitude and appreciation. That's the least thing he could do.

"Nishimura Riki? What are you doing here?"

"I'm visiting my sister, is that so wrong?"

Soul's lips parted. "So you know?" he gave a brief sigh before gesturing Ni-ki to come outside of the room with him, to prevent waking a sleeping Himiko. Ni-ki lets out a small groan before following the boy outside, great. His plan of being the first person his sister sees once she awakens, delayed. "Did you're father told you? About Himiko - Katsumi, rather." Soul started once they reached the benches at the side of the building. 

"It was Konon who did." Soul passed a can of soda to Ni-ki. It was going to be one hell of a conversation. The two started it off with simple questions, mostly were about Himiko before moving on to much personal ones. Quietly listening to Ni-ki, Soul was astonished at the sudden change of attitude and his use of tone, it was so far from what he predicted but turns out, they were conversing properly - sometimes putting emphasis to their words as if they were businessmen.

"So what made you say all this? You're not really the first to apologize type, well at least for me."

Ni-ki scoffed. "Ouch. . . that's kinda offending. But you are right. You see, I was driven by anger and jealousy, I never came to like you because I always thought that you were such a shameless guy. First my mom, the second, Saeyoung and little did I know, you have my long lost little sister too. I thought that it was unfair that you had the women I love the most come to you're side, leaving me behind in the dust. . . it hurt you know? I was afraid that you might take more of the most precious people I have so that's how my hatred grew for you. And whenever Saeyoung would start defending you, damn it pissed me off." the boy brushed his hair to the side and recklessly attempted to throw the empty can of soda into the trash bin. The result? It missed. Ni-ki leaned forward and heaved a deep sigh. "I was so scared that I'll get left behind but now, viewing your side of the story made me think that it shouldn't be this way. That my anger and jealousy will only drive me to a dead end. It would lead me to nothing but do and assume the most malicious things. . . And I don't want to live like that. I don't want this feeling to grow more on me anymore. . . I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being such a ill mannered jackass."

"I didn't know you felt that way. . . I-I'm sorry too."

A simple sorry won't change anything that has been done. But it is enough to change and re-write future you are to have with the person.

____________________________________

I'm so sorry for a long wait! I was quite busy the last couple of days and it was my first time writing a chapter with the use of my laptop.

I want to thank you all for the support you have given me and this book! You guys really bring the best out of Fiercely Sweet and my career as an author. I love you all so much </33

I know this chapter isn't good enough to express my gratitude but I will keep working hard and strive to give you all a better product. I won't let you down!

And hopefully you all learned something in this chapter. See you all in the next update ~