Sunflower

Hi! My name is Ciel and I am a relationship counselor, the kind do not require you to go to a huge office or fill up some complicated forms because the truth is, I’m just a high school student. All you need to do is tell me your story and I’ll tell you what I think you should do about it.

It all started with my brother’s friend: Eun. He’s a Korean who has a Korean girlfriend. I can remember that night clearly. I was on my way home from school. It was late because Sophie and I took hours to finish our project. Sophie is my friend, she has a boyfriend who I never met since she said he’s from a different school. Not that I mind though, I am really not into relationships.

Don’t get me wrong, I grew up in a fairy-tale like household. My mom and dad met when they were in high school. My grandfather (my mom’s dad) did not approve of my dad because his family were middle class back then. He told my dad if that he can prove that he is financially stable, then they can continue their relationship.

My dad, being an ideal leading man that he is, did everything he can to earn money. He started studying hard and began his businesses. At first, it was a simple delivery. He would help his classmates deliver some of their things, especially those whose families are in the province. Eventually, he got clients from other universities and after he graduated, he was able to handle his first small company.

However, grandfather was still not amazed by my father’s accomplishments and continued to push him to his limits. My dad loves my mom so much that he was not bothered at all. He gained more clients until his company was well-known in the city. The company already had 10 small branches by the time my grandfather allowed my parents to be together.

My mom and dad immediately got married and my older brother was born: Cyrus. As of this day, our company is known all over the country and it was franchised in other countries as well. But we don’t tell that story to other people in fear that people will take advantage of us.

Going back, my parents’ love story is like those you can watch on television. Growing up with their love, I want my love story to be like that so I never dated anyone who doesn’t give me what they call, sparks.

“Just admit that nobody likes you” Cyrus would always say that whenever I tell them that I am not into relationships.

That is not true. There are a couple of guys who gave me chocolates and flowers during Valentine’s Day. I just choose to ignore them.

When I arrived home that day, Cyrus and Eun were busy drinking in the garden. I can tell that they started hours ago considering the amount of empty bottles on the floor.

Since my dad is running a huge company, my mom accompanies him for his travels which is why they are rarely at home. I don’t mind though, Cyrus is a great older brother. He can take care of me and Cloud, our younger brother.

The both of them are looking up in the sky so I am not sure if they are awake or not. I tried my best to quietly head inside when I heard someone move. I slowly turn to see Cyrus looking at me, the look he always gives whenever I come home late.

“What time is it, young lady?”

The thing about Cyrus is that after our parents made him in charge, he became strict. I slowly look at my wristwatch,

“um 11 pm?”

He sighed, Eun then noticed me and fixed himself.

“Good evening” he said.

He looked terrible. His hair was messy, his shirt was wrinkled, and I bet he smelled beer.

Cyrus did not respond and I hate it whenever he gives me this silent treatment. He usually nags non-stop and I’m not sure if he was mad or too drunk to talk. He then started calling someone.

“Who are you calling?” I asked.

I don’t know why but I’m nervous even if I didn’t do something wrong.

“Dad, who else? You didn’t tell me you’re going to be late.”

He smirks and continued to wait for the phone to be picked. I immediately walked closer to him.

“Hey! I was at school. I told Cloud about it.”

He smirked, “Cloud is not in charge” I roll my eyes. “What do you want?”

It turned out they needed a female perspective on Eun’s problem. After changing my clothes, I head back to the garden with my coffee.

“What’s the coffee for?” Cyrus asked. I glared at him, “well it’s 11:30 pm and I should be sleeping right now.”

He laughed, “if you just told me that you’re going to be late then you’ll be soundly asleep by now, right?”

I rolled my eyes. I guess I was defeated because I thought Cloud would tell it to Cyrus but he didn’t. I took a deep breath, “so what can I help?”

Eun was dumbfounded but Cyrus told him to explain to me what happened. Eun, despite being drunk and confused, took a deep breath and started his story.

Apparently, Eun and his girlfriend, Irah have been together for 3 years. Everything was running smoothly until one day, Irah changed. She started forgetting their dates, she doesn’t have time for Eun, and so on. Eun thought it was weird but when Irah explained that it was because college life got her busy, he understood.

“She’s cheating on you” I blurted while Cyrus smiled as if I read his mind.

Eun bit his lip, attempted his best not to cry. “But that would be impossible…”

I looked at Cyrus while he urged me to continue. I don’t know what my brother is trying to accomplish but I followed him anyway.

“You guys take the same classes, right?” I asked. He nodded. “So you would know her requirements and schedule. Then that would be weird if you can still find time for her while she claimed that she is too busy.” Cyrus smirked, “I’ve been telling him that the whole time.”

Eun just looked down. I opened my phone, “let me check her socials, if you don’t mind?” He nodded.

To be honest, I’m used to searching for other people’s profiles on social media. I’ve done this quite a few times whenever Sophie has a mysterious crush.

So Irah’s posts were usually about herself for the past few weeks. Her Facebook and Instagram accounts were clean though she stopped posting about their relationship for months now. I then checked her Twitter. The thing about Twitter is that people don’t think anyone will check their Liked tweets but I checked Irah’s. My eyes widen when she started liking posts about new crushes, ideal guys, and toxic relationships.

“Do you know about these?” I showed Eun her profile while he shakes his head. I continued checking her Twitter, including her mentions.

Unfortunately, she’s been replying to someone whose username was Hyun022. I went to his profile and saw that he is only following her and liked all of her tweets. I went back to their conversations and got his name.

“Do you know anyone called Hyun?” Cyrus’ eyes widen and he turned to Eun. “That’s my cousin.”

Cyrus got my phone to see where I’m going. “They’re talking on Twitter.”

Eun frowned, “Hyun doesn’t have a Twitter…”

My brother raised an eyebrow and showed my phone to Eun. His eyes widen in surprise. I went back again to Hyun’s account.

“He just tweeted that he’s in a restaurant right now. Do you know where Irah is?”

I sensed that Eun’s heart was beating fast. He looked down, “she said she’ll be hanging out with her friends”

Cyrus stood, “Let’s go to the restaurant and catch them”

I looked at Eun who seemed to be hesitant. “I don’t think Eun wants that.”

Cyrus looked at me then back to his friend. “Eun, this is the only way we can stop this.”

Eun looked at my brother. “What if I don’t want to? What if I’m happy just being with her?” Cyrus frowned and turned to me. I move closer to Eun.

“Eun, you deserve better. Aren’t you tired of thinking every night what happened? Why she suddenly became distant? Don’t you think you deserve to know the truth?”

He looked at me. “She will leave me.”

I smiled, “It’s you who’ll leave her.”

Cyrus placed his car keys on the table. “Are we going or not?”

In the end, we were able to convince Eun to go to the restaurant. It’s almost midnight and the restaurant usually close at 1 am. Cyrus started nagging Eun while I drove since both of them are drunk. When we arrived at the parking lot, we saw Hyun’s car.

Cyrus angrily removed the seatbelt, “He’s going to get it” I grabbed his hand.

“I don’t think causing a scene will make things better. I think I should talk to Irah.”

Both of the guys looked at me.

“You dragged me into this, remember? Eun needs a closer and explanation. Causing a scene there will make Irah hate him more. Our goal is to make Eun the victim.”

My brother smiled, “you’re good at this.”

I smiled and headed out. Eun and my brother waited for me in the car. I don’t know why but I’m not nervous. I just want to help Eun and get this over with. Maybe it was the coffee or the situation, but it felt good.

When I opened the door, our suspicions became right. Irah was there having a date with Eun’s cousin. I suddenly feel bad for Eun. Imagine loving someone for so long then knowing they were cheating on you. What’s worse is that it was with your cousin.