The anxiety Ha Jin was feeling gradually vanished while she was having dinner with the Kims. How could not she feel at ease when the food Mrs. Kim had cooked tasted so heavenly and everyone around her were smiling and laughing over some random conversations. Ha Neul, San Ji, and Mr. Kim were not there because they were very busy but the rest of So Joon's siblings were present and they were too loud at teasing each other.
They were already having desserts when Mrs. Kim handed Yo Jung a picture of a beautiful lady.
"Your father sent me that picture. I wrote the date and the time at the back. Don't forget to meet her and be polite."
"I will," Yo Jung promised but before he could take the picture, Ji Soo snatched it and intently stared at it.
"It will not work out," he said, after a few seconds of examining the picture.
Yo Jung took the picture from Ji Soo with a raised eyebrow and asked, "What do you know about women? You've never dated anyone."
"I am an investigator," he reasoned. "I know things about people and you are my brother. I know you all too well. That girl is too good for you."
"Is it the other way around?" Yo Jung smirked.
"It is the other way around," Han-na agreed, obviously irritated with the picture. "The girl looked too demure. You don't like delicate women like her..."
"Okay, that's enough," Mrs. Kim said. "It's not right to judge people by their picture. I know you are only worried about your brother but let him know the girl first."
Han-na looked like she still wanted to utter some protest but decided to restrain herself and respect what her mother requested.
Ji Soo also stopped teasing Yo Jung.
"Mom, I think Ji Soo also wanted to date," Won Soo teased.
"I don't want to!" Ji Soo yelled and he really seemed greatly irritated by that suggestion. "I will stay single for the rest of my life!"
"Hera is for Eun Ji. Don't wait for them to break up. You should find another woman to love," Won Soo harshly said, silencing everyone.
"You should listen to your brother, Ji Soo," Mrs. Kim said, surprising everyone, that she added, "It might sound unsympathetic but it is the other way around. Won Soo is only worrying about you. We all are."
Ji Soo sighed his irritation away and said, "I'm not waiting for them to break up. I'm waiting for a woman that is as great as you and greater than Hera," he said those last three words with bitterness that only made everyone smile. "And... it's not that long ago since I had been rejected. I still need time to heal. Don't feel guilty, Eun Ji. This is not your fault."
Eun Ji sadly smiled at his younger brother.
"I will definitely find someone to love. Just not now."
"We know that," Joo Hyuk said. "Just don't take too much time over your heartache. It's not healthy."
"Who says I'm depressed?" Ji Soo defensively said. "I will never drown in depression over that. How can I feel depressed when I have you all around me? Family will always be the best thing for me."
"Let's drink to that!" Joo Hyuk said, raising his glass of juice and everyone did the same.
^###########################################^
"How's your job hunting?" Ha Jin asked Ki Joo over their breakfast.
"No luck yet," she answered with a disappointed sigh.
"Then I guess that today is your lucky day," Ha Jin beamed at Ki Joo.
"You have a job for me?"
"Eun Ji needs a reliable hand to work at his restaurant since So Joon will not be working there starting tomorrow."
"Why?" Ki Joo was more confused than delighted with Ha Jin's suggestion. "Did he regain his memories?"
"Not yet. He just decided to focus on studying and accompany his mother and Won Soo on their house. Will you take the job?"
"Of course!" Ki Joo eagerly answered. "I want to earn money as soon as I can."
^#######################################^
"Ki Joo told me that she is happy working at Eun Ji's restaurant but is she telling me the truth? You passed by the restaurant earlier, right?" Won Soo asked So Joon while they were having dinner with Mom and Yo Jung.
"If you are that curious then why don't you drop by the restaurant and watch Ki Joo work? Why are you bothering So Joon?" Yo Jung asked.
"You just miss her," So Joon said. "You should see her from time to time."
"She is trying her best to support herself and achieve her dreams. I should also study hard and pass the entrance exam," Won Soo said even though the depth of his longing for Ki Joo was too evident in his eyes.
"You should still see her even just once a week," So Joon insisted. "Not just in pictures or video calls but personally. It will give you more inspiration. Trust me."
"We are doing this to get used to the distance our dreams will cause us."
"That is why So Joon is telling you to see her even just once a week," Mom said. "You should not waste time while you can still see each other. You should instead make the most out of the time you can still see and be with each other."
"I can see your point," Won Soo sighed. "Alright. I will see her once a week."
^############################################^
After having a fulfilling lunch with her mother and Ki Joo, Ha Jin was already anticipating the softness of her bed but before she could open the door of her room, someone persistently pushed the doorbell on their gate.
"I'll get it," Ha Jin said before Ki Joo could get up from the sofa. "Just focus on your studies. I'll take care of this nuisance," she winked at Ki Joo who only smiled at her.
She went to the gate and was surprised upon seeing Han-na standing there, looking deeply irritated.
"What are you doing here, Han-na?" she asked, opening the gate.
Han-na did not reply. She just stormed inside the house and sat beside Ki Joo on the sofa.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Ki Joo was as surprised and as curious as Ha Jin. "Aren't you supposed to be in the hospital?"
"I took a few days off," Han-na irritably answered.
"Here are some refreshments. It seemed that your friend needs to cool her head first," Mom said, placing the tray of snacks on the center table.
"Mom, this is Han-na. One of So Joon's siblings."
"Nice to meet you, Han-na," Mom said and was surprised when Han-na got to her feet and put her arms around Mom.
"Nice to meet you too, Mom. You have an amazing daughter. I hope that I can also be a good daughter to you," Han-na said and she finally let go of Mom with a small smile on her face.
"Are you also planning to live with us?" Mom asked with a welcoming smile. "I will love another company here."
"No, Mom. But you have a comfortable home. I think I will be coming here more often."
"You are welcome here anytime," Mom said with a pat on Han-na's shoulder. "I'll be on the backyard with Winter. Just let me know if you need anything."
"Thanks, Mom!" Ha Jin, Han-na, and Ki Joo said.
"What's wrong with you, Han-na?" Ha Jin asked, sitting on the other side of Ki Joo. "Why do you look so irritated?"
"Yo Jung is dating right at this moment! And he seemed to be enjoying his day with that woman!"
"You take a few days off so you can stalk Yo Jung on his dates?" Ha Jin could not believe that Han-na was that protective of Yo Jung. "Don't you want him to have a girlfriend? He is old enough to have one."
"I don't!" Han-na firmly said. "I tried to dissuade the girl from dating Yo Jung but she still insisted on it."
"You tried to dissuade the girl? You talked to her?"
"I talked to her while they were having lunch! I only did that to save them both from wasting their time on each other! But Yo Jung! He told me to back off! That was the first time she told me those words! I... I wanted to hate him... but I can't..." her voice softened with her last statement and tears of frustration filled her eyes. "He was usually pleased with my presence... but now he is annoyed with me..."
"Just let him waste time on dating," Ki Joo said. "Would you rather let him spend time sulking over his ex-girlfriend?"
"That ex-girlfriend! This was all her fault! I thought Yo Jung was telling me everything! I thought I know everything about him! I thought he was telling me everything about him... so... how can he have a girlfriend without my knowledge? How can he hide that from me? I really wanted to get mad at him but it only ends up with me hating myself because I can't hate him..."
"I think you are relying too much on Yo Jung," Ha Jin carefully said. "Maybe the time has come for you to look at another man, start dating just like what your brother is doing."
"I don't want to date," Han-na said, draining the glass of juice.
"But Yo Jung wanted to go on a date," Ki Joo said. "Just let him."
"He never really wanted to date. His reason for doing this, I can't grasp it yet but I know him well enough to know that he never wanted to go on a date with anyone. I know he had never dated anyone before. He could not fall deeply in love with a girl named Ji Yeon without my knowledge, without any member of our family knowing about it."
"Maybe So Joon knew about it," Ki Joo said.
"Why would he tell So Joon about? I am closer to him than any of our siblings."
"Because So Joon is a man, he is a supportive brother, and he knows how to keep a secret," Ki Joo said, making Han-na more irritated.
"I also know how to keep a secret! I am supportive of him! And what if So Joon is a man? I will understand everything that he will say to me even if I am a woman."
"You know what I am trying to say Han-na," Ki Joo said. "You are here because you know we can understand you better than your siblings do."
Han-na sighed and filled her glass with juice.
"Just let Yo Jung do what he wants to do," Ha Jin said. "If you stop him from doing what he wanted, he will surely distance himself from you."
"I can't do that," Han-na stubbornly said and got to his feet. "I wanted to get drunk. I can go alone but if you will accompany me, I will feel a lot better."
"We can drink here in the house," Ha Jin suggested.
"You said that I need to meet other men, right? We cannot meet anyone inside this house. We should go out."
"But Ki Joo..."
"It's alright," Ki Joo said. "I can study tomorrow."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. Let's go and accompany our stubborn friend."
Han-na embraced Ha Jin and Ki Joo and happily said, "I love you, my besties!"
^##############################################^
"Mom, have you talked to Han-na?" So Joon asked while he was assisting Mom on the garden.
"I have but it was our usual conversation. Did she say something bothering to you?"
"She told me to remember everything as soon as I can because that will be the only way for Yo Jung to go back to his old self," So Joon said and though he was trying not to get bothered with the request Han-na had made, he could not help but get anxious. "Everyone kept telling me that it is better for me not to remember the past but suddenly, Han-na was telling me that I should remember it. Did Yo Jung change because I had an amnesia?"
"Don't take your sister's words seriously," Mom said as she carefully transferred a sprout on its new pot. "She was just jealous because Yo Jung is dating another girl. Han-na is very close to your brother. She had been his only girl ever since you were little but now he is going on a date. I'm sure that she is having difficulty adjusting to this change on Yo Jung and that change is not because you lose your memories. Hand me that pot you are holding."
So Joon obeyed and said, "Mom, I want to reopen my clinic."
"Have you remembered enough?" Mom anxiously asked.
"Not yet but I think it will be faster if I go back to my clinic and accept patients. I am remembering things whenever I look at my dogs. Maybe I can remember more if I go back to work."
"If you think that will be the best for you then go back to being a vet. Just don't overdo yourself. You still have a lot that you can't remember."
"I will be very careful, Mom."
"When are you planning to reopen your clinic?"
"Next week."
"Then I will go with you," she said, surprising So Joon. "Let me be your secretary."
"Mom!"
"I assisted you before. Don't worry. I only wanted to make sure that you can manage on your own. Just let me assist you for a week."
"Thank you, Mom."
^###############################################^
"Where is Han-na?" the first thing Yo Jung asked when he returned home.
He sat between So Joon and Mom and interrupted their movie watching.
"Did she say that she will go home tonight?" Mom asked.
"Yes. She told me that she took a few days off from the hospital. I called Ha-neul earlier and he confirmed it. He suggested that to Han-na because she seemed distracted this past few days."
"I think that's because of you," So Joon said, handing him a bowl of popcorn.
"I know," Yo Jung sighed and rejected the popcorn. "Let's have some beer."
"I'll get it," Mom said. "I'll also prepare snacks to go well with the liquor."
"Thanks, Mom."
"How was your date?" So Joon curiously asked.
"It's good," Yo Jung said and he seemed sincere with it. "She is a nice girl. She is smart and loves sports as well. She is also an honest person, honest enough to tell me that she dated a lot of men before me but still having difficulty finding the right man for her. She was hoping that it will be me. But she was saying that every time she has a new date."
"It seemed that you enjoyed dating her," So Joon said, happy to see a wide smile on his brother's face.
"Well, she is a nice girl and it's not hard to like her but that's it. I don't feel anything else."
"It's just your first time meeting each other but you already liked her. If you keep on going out with her, I'm sure that your feelings will develop into something deeper."
"Maybe," Yo Jung said. "But I am worrying about Han-na."
"Why? She seemed fine when I saw her earlier."
"If she is not in the hospital, she will only be spending the entire day on her unit. But she was not there. What if she is getting herself drunk on some bar?"
"Why would she do that? Did you two argue?"
"I lost my patience earlier," Yo Jung sighed with self-disappointment. "I'm usually extra patient when it comes to Han-na... but when she tried disrupting my date... I just lost it. I yelled at her to stop pestering me and back off."
"You seemed to really like your date," So Joon teased and Yo Jung only let out another sigh.
"I need to find Han-na. She is obviously hiding from me because of what I said to her."
"Just let your sister alone for now," Mom said, returning from the kitchen with beer and snacks on her hands.
So Joon quickly helped her put everything on the center table.
"But, Mom..."
"We all know Han-na," Mom quickly cut in. "She is a responsible person even if she's mad at any of us. She will not go out alone and get herself in trouble. She might be out with her friends. Try asking Ha Jin."
"Ah right... she told me yesterday that she will sleep all day. I don't want to disturb her rest so I left my phone on my room. I'll just get it," So Joon said and he hurriedly went to his room.
His mother was correct. Han-na was with Ha Jin and Ki Joo. Yo Jung was also right about Han-na. She was getting drunk on a bar.
He quickly called Ha Jin.
"Ha Jin, I'm sorry. I checked my phone only now."
"It's okay," Ha Jin was almost screaming on the other line because of the noise on the bar. "Han-na is making friends with people here. She's already drunk but she doesn't want to go home. We can't persuade her to go home. She wanted to spend more time with her new friends. But we can't leave her alone with these men. Can you take Yo Jung here? I think she will only listen to him."
"Okay. We will be there."
^#############################################^
Ha Jin breathed with relief when So Joon came with Yo Jung within an hour after he called. She and Ki Joo were already a bit drunk just to ride with Han-na's trip. She was always threatening them that she will go with those men if they don't drink with her.
"Thanks for coming," Ha Jin said, pointing Han-na on another table. She just transferred from their table to her new friends' table because Ha Jin and Ki Joo refused to drink more. She was laughing wildly with them and it angered Yo Jung.
"Let's go home," he angrily said, pulling Han-na to her feet.
The men around her reacted and Ha Jin was afraid that it would end with a fight when Han-na stood between those men.
"This is my most favorite brother in the whole wide world! Don't hurt him, my friends," Han-na said, leaning over Yo Jung. "He said that I should go home now so I should go home. Nice meeting you, my new friends!"
"Let's meet again," the men with the blue shirt had said.
"We will call you," the one with the red shirt said.
"Nice to meet you, brother," the one with the purple shirt had said but Yo Jung only ignored the hand he offered.
"You will not call her or see her ever again," Yo Jung said then pulled Han-na out of the bar and onto So Joon's car.
"I knew it!" Han-na said, wrapping her arms around Yo Jung. "You cannot get mad at me. You are not serious when you told me to stop pestering you and leave you alone, right? You don't like that girl, right?"
Han-na cried in his arms and Yo Jung gently patted her back.
"Don't do this again. What if those men hurt you?"
"I can defend myself," she said still sobbing in his arms. "And besides, Ha Jin and Ki Joo will never let me be harmed."
"Still, you should not do that again. Promise me."
"Don't go on a date and I will never do that again."
"Han-na..."
"Why should I not meet another man when you are dating another woman?"
"Date a better man and not those people that you just met on a bar."
Han-na glared at Yo Jung and said through her tears, "You really want me to date? You really want me to find another man?"
"Han-na..."
"I won't!" she yelled and buried her face on his chest. "I won't date so you should also not date anyone!"
Yo Jung could only sigh and said, "Just sleep. We will talk tomorrow."
Han-na listened to Yo Jung and Ha Jin was glad that he could still make her listen despite their arguments.
"Ha Jin, were here at your house," So Joon said but Ha Jin had no plan on getting out of the car.
"Ki Joo, can you tell Mom that I will spend the night at So Joon's house?"
"Yes, Ki Joo. Tell Mom about that. I want some company in my room tonight. I also wanted to ask you to come but I know you still need to study."
"Okay. I will tell Mom about it," Ki Joo said and Ha Jin mouthed thank you to her.
^############################################^
Han-na had fallen asleep on the car that Yo Jung had to carry her towards her room.
"You seemed also a bit drunk. Do you want to have some coffee before sleeping?" So Joon asked while they were sitting on the dining room. "Don't worry about Han-na. Yo Jung will take care of her."
"I'm not worried about that," Ha Jin said. "I will wait for the coffee on the garden. I wanted to get some fresh air."
"Okay. Wait for me there."
Ha Jin only smiled and walked to the garden.
It only became more beautiful now that Mrs. Kim had more time to tend with every plant and flower in there.
The gentle wind and wonderful scent of the garden was taking away her tipsiness. Her head was not that floating anymore.
She closed her eyes to better feel the air and appreciate the scent of the flowers. She was getting more and more relaxed when So Joon wrapped his arms from behind her and when she opened her eyes, she had seen two cups of coffee in front of her and some pastries.
"Let's have some midnight snack," he whispered and Ha Jin only helped him carry the tray then she leaned the back of her head on his chest.
"I want to rest here for a while," Ha Jin said, looking up at him with a warm smile.
He tenderly kissed her forehead and whispered, "Thank you for taking care of my stubborn sister. And sorry if she disturbed your rest day. My siblings are always doing this to you."
"I'm not complaining," Ha Jin said. "I'm rather glad that they are coming to me. I like it when the people I care for wanted my help. It makes me feel very useful. And I like it more when we can spend time like this. Because of your siblings, we can have moments like this in your house."
"I love you," So Joon whispered and kissed her on the cheek this time.
Ha Jin turned around to better embrace him and whispered back, "I love you."
^########################################^