[Stalkyoo] We're friends, right?

Part II

Shin-Ae looked at him with big eyes. No way she would figure out how these brothers interacted. His broken smile reveals a glimpse of how hurt he was. Even with her current loss and horrible situation, Shin-Ae couldn't help but notice. And later on, she would need to find out the deal with Kousuke and him. Everything was just draining her. For now, she just wanted a break. "Yeong-Gi... Thank you for being here then. Really", she mumbled. Most probably, he'd dodge her questions now, so she didn't ask.

"Anytime. We're friends, right?"

This time, he wasn't able to crack out a smile from her. And yes, he could relate. But it bothered him so much, it broke him so much after not seeing her for so long that he wished for her not to show any interest towards him. Even though at this point Shin-Ae was pretty messed up, he sensed that sometimes, she would do some things that sent him weird signals. His egoistic side wished for them to be true, but in all honesty, they could not happen. And he hoped for her sake that they wouldn't happen. He would only be a burden to her.

Silently, Shin-Ae eyes closed as she leaned against the car chair. And to be honest, Yeong-GI needed the silence as well. They both were a bit worn out, him driving was a relaxing thing so that he could focus on the things he would do.

Suddenly he jolted on the fact that he forgot the most important thing there was: calling Nana about it. "Crap. Uh, Shin-Ae? I'm calling my Nana now... She still doesn't know I offered you to stay for a while. Don't worry though, I'm sure-", he explained, but stopped mid-sentence when he realized that he heard or saw no movement, he shot a glance in her direction.

Looking so beautiful and worn down at a time, she slept in his car seat. How could this be possible? Last time she slept, she was actually snoring shortly after passing out. Maybe this sleep was different. At least it wouldn't surprise him if she didn't sleep as well. With a sigh, he reached for his phone and dialed Nana's number, casually driving with one hand on the stirring wheel.

"Hey, Tiger. What's up?"

"Hey, Nana. Remember the girl I was talking about sometimes? Shin-Ae? She is in some trouble now and I offered her to stay at ours. Is it okay if she uses the guestroom?"

"Sure. Go ahead. Does she want to drink or anything? I'm going for grocery shopping soon, do you want anything?"

For a short moment, Yeong-Gi glanced at her again. Still deeply asleep. "Well, maybe I'll just do the potato dish, I think she's gonna like it", he responds, looking forward again. Usually, he would smile while doing his dish. Not this time though. He needs to take off his mind and give Shin-Ae some space. By cooking, maybe he'd be able to leave her alone.

"Okay, see you later, Tiger." "Bye Nana."

Damn, he was lucky to have this wonderful woman in his life. He didn't even know where he would be without Nana, facing all this ugly family stuff.

Trying not to wake Shin-Ae up, he parked the car and stepped out of it, while taking Shin-Ae's bag. Now comes the tough part – despite the closeness from before, Nol still felt the intense restraint. He shouldn't always seek to touch her. Maybe she wasn't comfortable with them touching and what he did was something she only accepted for the sake of... something else? But she was okay with him holding her wrist. Here goes nothing, he thought to himself.

So, after this short moment of hesitance, he rounded the car and opened her door side.

"Shin-Ae. Wake up", he murmured towards her. Nothing.

"Ey, Shin-Ae, I've eaten all your fried chicken, sorry for that", Yeong-Gi tried again, having a faint smile on his face. Food always worked, didn't it? He still couldn't get over the fact how all worked up this woman got over anything edible. "No... That... My chicken...", he heard her muffle into the seat. So bloody adorable. Even at times like this, she could almost trigger a smile out of him.