Breakfast ended on a quiet note. Naturally, because working out right after eating could lead to some digestive issues, we agreed to wait a couple of hours at least. Eun Ha didn't seem to have that problem as she flew from one corner of the house to the other, cleaning and doing household chores.

I offered to help, but she politely turned me down.

Yes, there was definitely a bit of tension there, between us. It was not my imagination. Was it my fault? No, the only blame I carried was to agree to that ridiculous suggestion yesterday.

Still, stress was a thing, especially after going through death, and unloading some of it onto Eun Ha did, in fact, relieve me.

'Whatever. It's not like it'll happen again, so it's fine. Everything will go back to normal. I should focus on myself.'

At long last, the clock struck 11 AM.

Mia shuffled her feet and got up from the couch.

I also stood up, pocketing away my phone and, along with it, that piece of news I was engrossed with. I made my way to the stairs. Mia was instantly behind me, following quietly.

Her eyes tracked my movements with sharp intensity.

Once we reached the top, Mia crossed her arms and walked past me. "Let me get changed right quick. Don't you dare come up with another excuse or else…" She shook her fist at me, leaving the threat unspoken.

And then she skipped over to her room.

I shrugged and decided to start without her. I left the door slightly open, as a form of invitation. I tugged at my shirt and slipped out of it, exposing my upper body. This body needed to bulk up a bit. The way it was right now was an absolute embarrassment.

I stretched my arms a bit, warming up my muscles, and then I gripped the handles on the pull-up bar. I immediately felt the strain on my joints and muscles. I intended to switch between a normal grip and a reverse one, so I could build up my chest too.

Usually, I'd plug in my headphones for some motivational music, but since Mia would join me soon, it would be rude to exercise while completely tuning her out.

I pulled myself up, exhaled, lowered myself down, and inhaled. Breathing correctly during a workout was important to maximize the gains and avoid injuries.

My muscles started to burn, but I continued with the exercise. My back flexed, arms trembling to carry me up again. And then down.

Up. Down. Up. Down.

Sweat started to glide across my skin.

A set of familiar footsteps sounded out. The door creaked a little before it was shut. "You started without me." Mia accused.

I lowered myself down completely, hands relinquishing their hold on the bar.

"Come on now, don't be a drama queen. It's not like there's a lot to see." I looked at her, briefly stunned by her clothing choice. A purple, sleeveless top that exposed the exquisite crevice between her mounds, and… yoga pants.

The fabric of her top seemed to cry for help as it threatened to rip apart around Mia's ample chest. As a matter of fact, every garment that she owned seemed to be too little to hold all of that bouncy flesh within them.

Mia set the mat that she took with her down. "What are you looking at?"

"Nice clothes." I said, chuckling.

"Oh?" She held a hand over her mouth to hide the smug smile, like a villain. "You like it?" And then she leaned down a bit, one hand on her knee. I knew what she was trying to do. 'This vixen is trying to get a reaction out of me.'

I turned around, barely sparing her a look. "Meh… it's fine, I guess…"

"You…" She narrowed her eyes. "You're doing it on purpose."

Riling her up was kind of fun.

I grabbed the bar once again. "I'm the embodiment of innocence, am I not, sister?"

Her eyes narrowed even further, catching on to the lie but not knowing how to refute it. "If you said this a few days ago, I would have agreed… but now…" She trailed off with a smirk.

I decided to end the conversation there. I pulled myself up once again.

Mia positioned the mat next to me, but in a way that wouldn't bother my workout.

She got all on fours, hands and knees down. And then she lifted one leg up, staying in that particular position for a determined amount of time before she switched legs.

I followed a similar regime. Rest was important as well between each rep.

Around the ten-minute mark, I abandoned the bar and began to work with the weights. And because of that, I had a perfect, front-seat view of Mia's flawless, slender body stretching and twisting in enticing ways.

Nevertheless, I didn't let myself be distracted.

That was until she looked up at me. "Are you really fine, Dae Ho?"

"What do you mean?" I returned with a question, my arm burning and struggling to lift the weight up to my chest. 'There is nothing to do about it. The difference between me and the original Dae Ho is so huge that everyone is noticing it.'

Yes, I might have decided not to copy Dae Ho's behavior to keep up the act, but it was becoming increasingly difficult for me to ward off those questions or feed them lies that kept them quiet.

And, obviously, there was no way I could just come out with the truth. 'Who'd believe me anyway? '

The right side of Mia's face was obscured by a mantle of diluted blond hair, but her left eye shone with interest. "Hmm, well, it's obvious. You seem to have become a different person overnight. Mom has noticed it. I noticed it. If Su Ah wasn't so disinterested, she'd have noticed it. Same for dad."

I didn't let her words get to me. There was simply no way that she truly believed I was a different person. She used that statement as a metaphor, not as a claim of fact.

"And what is your theory in all of this?" I dug around, trying to unearth what was truly going on in her head.

"I don't know what to think." Mia released a breath as she abandoned the pose she was doing, and sat cross-legged on the mat. She was in full conversation mode. "I figured you got dumped by some chick, and all of this sudden… change… and training was your redemption arc."

She was surprisingly talkative.

A 'But...' was coming.

"But…" Mia chewed her bottom lip, eyes focused on me. "... The Dae Ho I know would sulk and lock himself up for a while, and then he'd be back to his normal, cheerful self. He's never been 'this' serious… it's really weird to see you like that, and concerning."

She was now talking about me in third person. No, she was referring to the old Dae Ho, the one that died a couple of days ago.

"Can't you just accept that this is me growing up?"

"I can… but this is a bit too sudden for everyone. You seem to have skipped the whole process, and got straight to the 'grown' part. We didn't see it happen, and now we don't know how to deal with you."

I heaved a deep sigh and placed the weights down. I walked over to her and sat down on the mat. "Does this change anything between us?"

Mia blinked, adopting a thoughtful expression. "I don't think so."

I continued evenly. "You said it was a good thing, didn't you?"

"I did."

"I can finally be someone you can rely on, unlike my old self. Correct?"

"That's…" Mia's lips twitched, not knowing whether to turn into a smile or a frown. "That's yet to be seen." She hummed, flipping her hair around.

"In time you'll realize that this 'change' brings nothing but good things." I said, reaching a finger out to wipe a drop of sweat off her forehead, right before it could slide over her left eye. She froze. "I'm fine. Never been better. I just… came to realize a few things about myself, and decided to do something about it. I looked back into my past, and saw how useless and aimless I was. I was just wandering around, with no purpose or ambition. But now… I have one."

She blinked, lips parting to let the words out, but none came.

I capitalized on that. "I'm not lost anymore. I know what I want. And I also know how to get it. I'm glad you're concerned about me, Mia Noona, but really, there's no need." I flashed her a smile, a genuine one.

The one that belonged to Jair Campinho.

"..."

──⇌ ⋆★⋆ ⇋──

Cha Mia's POV:

What. The. Hell. Was. That?

Mia's breathing was a bit rough as she leaned against the door of her room. Sweat flowed down her face in thin rivulets. She gingerly placed a hand on her chest, feeling the faint throbbing of her heart against her palm.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

She clicked her tongue, cheeks a bit flushed. And whether it was due to her yoga or something else altogether, she didn't know.

Dae Ho's deep eyes and masculine, workout scent lingered on her mind.

'Why does he have to say corny stuff like that? Tch. Idiot.'

She dragged herself to her bed and flopped on it, face down.

The conversation she had with him went in an unexpected direction, and Mia didn't know what to think anymore. It was hard to think of him as the silly step-brother that always needed someone to hold his hand.

That lost, shy kid had been replaced by a man.

Mia turned around, curling one knee up and draping a hand over her forehead.

Dae Ho's bare torso came to her mind. It was still skinny, but the constant workout was slowly forging it, one hammering at a time. If he kept that up, she had no doubt that the end result would surprise everyone.

Her body was still heated up, pearls of sweat running across her skin.

A familiar warmth lit up her stomach. It quickly spread, following the path down to her core. She rubbed her thighs together, in a futile attempt to douse the growing flames, but the friction only made them stronger.

The image of Dae Ho gently brushing her hair apart… their faces so close, if only briefly. And then that smile…

Thump. Thump. Thump.

"Fuck…"

Mia couldn't stay still. She tugged at her top, and pulled it out in one rough motion. Her yoga pants and underwear followed right after, until she was eagle-spread on her bed, in a sweaty puddle of her own, while a hand smoothly slid down her slicked stomach.

She was frustrated, more so at the fact that it only took one afternoon with Dae Ho to make her like that. 'Well… it's been a long time since I've done it…' That didn't excuse the fact that it was to her supposedly step-brother that she imagined the hand between her thighs belonged to.

Her thoughts were a hazy swirl of confusion and arousal. 'There's… nothing… wrong with this…'

And then her middle finger rubbed the wet slit, probing the pink flesh within. "Hnn!" She arched her back, her other hand going up to cup one of her breasts. The globe of fair-skinned meat sunk into her palm, fingers moving expertly to knead it, to pinch and tweak the cherry in the middle.

She moaned, moving her face a little further into the pillow. The polyester muffled the needy mewls coming out of her mouth.

But it also gave her more reason to be daring.

Ah, if only she prepared a towel to soak up the juices beforehand.

And so, for the next twenty minutes, Mia's muffled cries rang out.