Querencia

26

"Okay princess, get up!"

The loud voice echoed in the cozy room, shaking up the whole thing inside in which the owner instantly batted her eyes open. The blanket that was originally covering her was now crinkled on the floor, exposing her curled body over the bed.

"Go away, Eric", Hana lazily shoved her brother away, covering her face with a pillow next.

"I'm not leaving until you wake up", Eric grabbed the same pillow, effortlessly pulling it away from his sister and threw it on the floor. "Get up, Hana!"

"Okay, I'm up", she finally gave up, sitting on her bed and fighting with herself to get her eyes open but they won't. It was as if her eyelids were glued together and she was tired.

"Wow, you look terrible", Eric pondered, skimming her swollen eyes due to the constant crying last night, dried tears staining her cheeks and she did look like a moving corpse. "Anyway, go take a shower, we're going out."

"Where to?"

"Don't ask!" he shouted, walking back towards the door of the room when he heard a thud. His instinct seemed to know what was happening. And it was just concreted when he glanced over his shoulder, catching at the sight of his sister falling back on the bed. "You have only 20 minutes. Sunwoo is waiting for us, I swear you don't want to deal with his anger issue just because we're late. Move!"

Hana whined like a little kid, getting grumpy but still she obeyed. Though she felt too heavy to get up, still she did. For she would always fulfill every wish Eric listed.

But, she regretted it this time.

She should have known when Eric asked her to put on her sweatshirt and sweatpants, they would be going for a run - something she despised the most. Nonetheless, it was too late to back off.

"Are you running or walking?" Sunwoo questioned as he ran backward in front of her whilst Eric ran behind her.

"I'm jogging", she answered, panting. "Remind me again, why do we do this?"

"Because you're not fit!" Eric shouted from her back, grabbing her hand and dragging her forward. "Come on sis, you can do it."

Little did Hana know, Sunwoo grabbed her other hand and the boys dragged her along the park despite the willingness. Though she was begging them to stop, none of them seemed to care. It was a combat training.

After a round, the three finally settled down, and Hana lost all of her energy. She fell flat on the grass, not caring even one bit if the soil would be staining her outfit or the dried grass would stick somewhere in her hair. She felt dying.

"You guys almost killed me", she complained, slowly sitting up with legs straightened, letting her blood flow all over them to ease the numbness. But, the flow seemed to be stuck when Eric rested his head on her thigh.

"You're complaining too much when it comes to exercising", Eric pointed out, his chest rising and falling as he still caught his breath.

"And you're talking like you're good", Sunwoo added, landing his head on Eric's stomach which the latter groaned and smacked his head. "Ouch! Easy bro."

"You deserve it!"

"What?"

"Enough you two!" Hana smacked them both, stopping them before the real fight could occur in front of her. She probably could not stop them later if it happened, she had zero energy left. "Let's rest for a while and then we will go get some ice creams."

Strangely, at the mere mention of ice creams, the two young boys truly obeyed her, silently cheering. Indeed, babies would forever be babies.

They just stayed there under the morning sunlight, absorbing all the vitamin D through their skins. Hana seemed to calm down from the heartbroken moments she had yesterday, her expression lighted up a bit.

She did not notice, but her brother had been watching her from the moment they left their house.

"Are you okay now?" he asked, looking straight at his sister's face as she looked down facing him. "Are we distracted you well?"

Hana was quite taken aback. Her eyes flickered from Eric to Sunwoo, the two were now looking at her, anticipating her answer. They were not trying to mess with her today, they just wanted to distract her. They wanted to help her move on.

"How sweet", she smirked, staring up at the wide sky. She was touched by the effort they made, she truly was. "I think I'm fine now. Thanks, boys."

"So, you're really over Juyeon now?" Sunwoo suddenly asked, lying down on his stomach. His eyes were lit up with anticipation as if he was waiting to confirm his guess.

"I have to", Hana sighed, followed by Sunwoo's silent cheer which made Eric lift his head, glaring at his best friend.

"Kim Sunwoo, what is that for?" Eric was suddenly concerned, his glare became more sharper than a knife.

"Nothing", the latter confirmed, shifting his eyes to the older who was confused by the discussion the boys had. "Noona, that means, I have a chance to be your boyfriend right?"

His mischievous smile made Hana smile almost instantly. It was cute and flirty at the same time. No one could have rejected that smile of his if he ever offered it.

But, Sunwoo never got his answer because suddenly he was busy running for his life around the park. Eric was ready to kill him.

"What... is happening?" Hana was left alone confused as she watched the boys running. But then, her memory of Juyeon at the same park from a few years ago suddenly flashed in her sight.

She closed her eyes, sucking in a deep breath to erase it away.

How she hoped for that memory ain't ever exist.

After an outing with Eric and Sunwoo today, Hana thought her effort to move forward was going smoothly. But it was already distracted when they got home, the boys in the living room choosing a movie whilst she was in the kitchen, watching her mother preparing ingredients for cooking.

"Need help?" she offered whilst pouring water into her glass.

"No, I'm fine", the lady smiled as she glanced over her shoulder, the plastic bag near the girl reminded her of something. "Oh, earlier Juyeon was here to meet you. He asked me to give you that, he said you like it."

Stunned as soon as she heard his name, she prayed in her head that her mother was not looking her way right now. She was nearing breaking down and might be crying if the lady did so.

But, the gift from him somehow prevented her from holding the tears, it finally dripped down.

"Mom", she called and the lady hummed in response, turning her head towards her daughter. "How to move on?"

That very time when their eyes met, Hana could not hold any longer, she burst into tears. Her mother seemed to understand, pulling her closer without asking much.

"You will do good", the lady stroked her hair softly, assuring her. "You will."

It just made Hana cry even more. A mother's touch was comforting but it could get her more emotional as well.

But sooner, Hana would learn that it was not easy to walk away from the boy she had been in love with for 10 years.