|Their Choice of Secrecy|

The girl entered the doorstep, feeling slightly unwelcomed by her legal guardians.

The kind that she would not consider her parents because of the things they have made her go through... 'They aren't my family.'

Honey reminded herself, that it was already 2 months since she arrived there, and she didn't expect much but a lot had already happened to her.

"Go to your room and prepare for the second date tomorrow." the man pointed toward the stairs to his daughter's bedroom and left the area with his driver.

He kissed the forehead of his wife before exiting the door, heading to his car, and boarding his flight this time.

'I don't like the sight of them getting along...'

Honey faced her front and walked up the staircase without saying a word to the people around her, ignoring their call. "Miss Lou, are you not having dinner?"

Ivy's housemaids were filling up the home under the name of the 16-year-old girl, her stepmother was bothered by this behavior, however, she decided to turn a blind eye.

"Just keep them in the fridge."

'Huh.' she sighed as soon as the door shut behind her, slowly letting herself fall down the cold hard floor with her back against the white door.

The lights were completely off, leaving the girl in a quiet state where her emotions were gathered to burst with the influence of the darkness.

"I feel tired." her voice slightly cracked due to the lump in her throat.

She tried not to cry but the tears were already flowing down her reddish cheeks, and her head was hurting from the pain that was caused by the difficulty of showing how she truly felt at that minute.

A moment of her silent cry lingered as the time became late, the night passed by slowly as she sat there while hugging her knees.

"I am fine, right? I don't have any problems..." she spoke to herself, comforting the feelings that she had been bottling up inside of her heart, keeping them from revealing themselves to any other person.

"I shouldn't have issues..." she tightly held onto her sleeves while lifting her body from the ground, and heading to rest on her bed.

The sound of her trying to gasp for air was resurfacing after an hour of crying so silently, that she couldn't sleep through the entire night as her cloudy thoughts overcame the good memories she made that day.

"No matter how hard I try..." Honey shifted from her right to the left, moving her head on the pillow to find some comfort.

'Concerned about them, or... Am I just concerned about my well-being??' the girl felt as if her feelings were wrongfully doing others as it seemed to question their ways of life.

"Just how? And why?"

Her questions didn't sound like they were making any more sense in her perspective, she spoke only what came to her mind in a way that only she could understand.

Another batch of hours passed with no sign of the girl ever falling into slumber, she felt empty and numb to the pain, she couldn't cry furthermore for it was useless.

'I should be happy though...' she laughed at how ridiculous she thought about her life, the fact that she had everything that one could ever want in life.

A perfect family...

The wealth and fame...

Beauty that fits the standards...

Admiration from those that surrounded her, and all the special treatment.

"Why then am I like this?" she was already halfway down a dried-up well when the signs became noticeable...

Honey drifted off to sleep as soon as she felt that someone was watching her having the break she desperately needed.

The whole neighborhood was peaceful, the girl's residence had its lights off when the clock struck 11 PM.

Their housemaids settled in their newly changed bedsheets while Ivy browsed through a brochure beside a portable lamp before deciding to end the day.

They were already sleeping and dreaming except for someone...

She watched the girl through the window with its curtains being blown by the air.

Honey had left her windows unlocked but certainly, it was safe to say that there wouldn't be a problem with that, right?

'Her pillow case must be very wet from all those tears...' the woman looked into her binoculars as she watched Honey Lou, she felt very worried.

"My dear daughter must be having a hard time on her own..." she shook her head in despair upon seeing the girl she had abandoned years ago, Haejin knew that revealing her identity to Honey would enrage the girl.

'I wish I could just bring back time and take her with me.'

((The next few days...)) It was very cloudy yet a single drop of rain was nowhere in sight, letting the people in town resume their plans on a Wednesday morning.

{"Can we leave now?!"} Yua's message popped up on Honey's phone as she drank her hot tea, keeping herself warm from the blowing wind that was coming from the balcony door.

Their trip kept on being postponed due to the bad weather, leaving every single one of them bored from staying home.

"It is daytime... The sun is out but it's cold." Haesu took a peek outside her window, taking a sip of her tea as well but in her case, it wasn't a hot tea...

'Adaptation is the key to success!' she thought to herself before preparing the things that she would need after taking a cold shower.

{"How about waiting till 11 AM before we meet up?"}

The screen of Honey's phone lit up once more as Sora replied to Yua's question despite the fact that they were just right beside each other, living under the same roof.

{"HURRY UP AND PACK YOUR THINGS!"}

Sookyung messaged with an all-uppercase letter, telling his fellow friends that if they plan on leaving that day, they should prepare fast.

Sora nagged her housemate, pushed Yua inside her bedroom, and threw all the clothes that were scattered on the floor.

Lying there for who knows how long...

They were officially informed that this year's summer break would be questioned afterward, leaving them even more work to do.

And write a report or reflection when they return.

"Why are they punishing us? I DESERVE AN ACTUAL BREAK WITHOUT SCHOOLWORK!"

The younger one commented on the school's announcement, most students would spend this entire break playing video games or doing what they wish to do such as their hobbies, going to different places in the world, hanging out with their friends in each other's houses, and/or simply chilling in their own houses without stepping out for long.

"You're still standing?!" she flinched at the statement, looking back at the older female as she had her arms crossed the whole time while glaring at Yua as well.

"Just leave, Curly! Mind your room to meddle with."

She shut the door in the other girl's face before picking up every mess there was, and dumping them on a laundry basket filled with dirty clothes.

"Honestly, if we are leaving today... I can always say that I'm not feeling well."

Honey chuckled at the thought, however, she soon realized that even though she never willingly agreed to tag along with them on their outing, tugging her hair from the exaggerated agony she felt.

'It would have been better if they hadn't chosen to ride a yacht...'

"It's not like flying overseas would hurt anyone, in addition to that, I am used to it. Right?" she asked herself about the dilemma she was having, either enjoy her summer break by facing her biggest fear or waste it and stay.

"But who am I to refuse their kindness? They are including me, after all."

She didn't doubt their intention furthermore and then, decided to start choosing the outfits and other things that she would be bringing on their trip.

Honey finished her hot drink before leaving the seat in front of her balcony, walking near the closet-like room where she stores all of her clothes, straightly going to the yellow, black, and brown sets of colored clothing that she owns.

The rain stopped pouring and the sun slowly became visible as the clouds flew in different ways, Haesu and her friends were beginning to become complete at the deck near the sea.

On the other hand, Honey Lou was hastily carrying all her bags to her friend's car, meanwhile, the boy kept on bugging her by playing around as they became late.

"Can you please take us here?" the dirty blonde-haired boy took a screenshot of the location they were heading toward, and they drove away in silence although, Dan tried to soothe the atmosphere.

"Do you mind?" Honey sounded truly annoyed with his behavior, and so...

"Okay, fine." he answered, feeling rejected already.

'Why is it like I am talking to a wall??'

"Finally! You're here. Now, let's leave..." Yua was very excited along with Sora and Sookyung, their belongings looked to be settled on the yacht while Honey and Dan's things were still in hand.

"What happened to them?" Miles commented out of the blue, noticing that the new arrivals didn't seem to be getting along.

'I hope none of us would mention a thing about the engagement...'

Honey stared at Yun Oh as the boy smiled at them, welcoming his rival too because he triumphed over Honey's favor, the girl treated the other admirer on her left poorly.

The soon-engaged couple had agreed to keep it a secret between themselves without even making a single peep.

However, the fact that they expected no one else to know about this was already torn since Sihyeon and Hyunjoo were quick to catch the gaze they were giving one another.