There are certain moments that define you in life. SZ’s moment started back in middle school on yet another day when her teacher called to her in class while she was absentmindedly staring out the window.

Did she get in trouble? Oh yes. Did she need her parents to meet the teacher regarding this new trouble? Also yes.

But SZ wasn’t looking forward to telling her parents and disappointing them yet again.

Luckily, when she went home that day feeling awfully miserable and somewhat angry (at the situation), her mom announced her older brother SY was visiting from college. Suddenly excited SZ didn’t even mind taking him a plate of fruits upstairs; she knew what she had to do!

Hurrying upstairs to SY’s room, she opened the door yelling his name only to have someone definitely not her brother turn around.

This person, this boy, was beautiful. SZ was rendered speechless, she couldn’t help herself, she was in shock.

Mesmerized, looking at the beautiful stranger while he asked her what’s up, the words blurted out of her mouth before she could reel them in.

“Did you get plastic surgery?”

The boy, however, was versed in good humor and asked her to come over to see if the results were good.

At that moment, SY came into the room and asked the rooted SZ if she was shocked at his dashing looks. Not beating around the bush, SY asks SZ (whom he calls “little demon”) what she did this time. He knows there must be a reason SZ is excited to see him plus he knows her, she’s a little demon for a good reason.

SZ, however, can’t help but ask “Who is he?”, her eyes fully on the strange boy sitting at SY’s desk. The beautiful stranger is DJ, her brother’s roommate and friend.

With a good-natured serious face, DJ approaches SZ and, stooping to her lower level, introduces himself, “Hi little girl, I’m DJ, your brother’s friend”.

That was it, SZ was hooked. So much so that she almost forgot the reason she was seeking her brother.

SY, however, wasn’t too complying with her school troubles. He was a bit butthurt to hear SZ confuse DJ with him—an altered, touched-up version of him. No matter how much SZ threatened him with their mom’s intervention, he refused her request to help.

Angry, SZ acts on her threats by putting on a whole show with great orchestrated tears. Unfortunately, her mom admonishes SY but pulls him out of the room so he can get ready to leave with DJ who’s patiently waiting.

Left alone in the room, her plans backfired, DJ grabs a tissue and hands it to her while asking if she does this often. He must admit that was quite the show with the instantaneous burst of tears.

SZ isn’t done though. She now turns her desperation onto a new target who’s trying to recover from his slip-up of asking why she put on the show if she wanted SY’s help (to which she started responding with more tears).

SZ needs a guardian to meet with the teacher. No wonder she’s desperate.

Grasping raw hope, SZ asks DJ to pretend to be her brother and attend the teacher meeting tomorrow. Her persuasive arguments play on DJ’s role in alienating SY by revealing the whole plastic surgery comment.

But DJ doesn’t bother giving her a straight answer so when the boys depart, SZ is left uncertain about her situation.

It’s been years but I still remember you

Fast-forward to the present. SZ, now a high school junior, is on her way downstairs after getting ready for school only to be “surprised” by SY. Her brother admonishes her for not being excited to see him; she counters back with his unreasonably long period of absence.

SY is moving into a college dorm that happens to be next to SZ’s school. He asks their dad to borrow the car to transport his roommate’s things. SZ’s ears prick up when she hears SY say “roommate”—could it be him?

With a whole new attitude, SZ volunteers to help SY unpack despite SY’s dubiousness at her suddenly kind intentions.

・❥・

After school that day, SZ makes her way to SY’s dorm with a skip in her steps. She can’t help the hope simmering inside her ever since SY mentioned his roommate. There’s no certainty that he was talking about DJ, but what if it’s him?

When she gets to the dorm, she calls SY and he tells her to wait outside for him. Hanging up, she sees a car trunk open with a fox plushie that draws her interest. As she curiously peeks around in the trunk, she hears footsteps. Turning she sees that face she can’t forget in all its beauty.

Rendered speechless yet again at the suddenness of his appearance, SZ can only acknowledge her identity with silence as he calls her name.

DJ admits he hardly recognized her after all the years and asks why she’s pilfering his things.

Quickly she puts down the plushie she’s holding. She wouldn’t have touched it had she known it was his.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” DJ asks her. “Kiddo, don’t you have a conscience? I did you a big favor, have you forgotten?”

She hasn’t forgotten. But she’s a little flustered ok? Give a girl some room to breathe.

DJ says he’s kidding and if she wants the plushie she can have it. Of course, she won’t encourage him to think her a kid by admitting to liking the toy. Picking up on this, he tells her he’ll throw it away if she doesn’t want it.

Walking towards the dorm carrying stuff, SZ asks where he got the fox plushie. DJ’s eyes shift to her before saying he doesn’t quite remember.

Climbing five floors to the boys’ dorm, SZ meets her brother’s two other roommates who proceed to tease her with “little girl”. DJ sits on a bed, a smile hovering on his lips at the good-natured teasing.

While the boys start discussing eating somewhere other than the school canteen since SY’s little sister is visiting, DJ preps to leave for his part-time job. Sadly he won’t be able to join them.

While SZ is busy throwing a dirty look at SY for the sake of sibling prerogative, she’s taken aback when DJ leans close to her to reach for something on the desk behind her. Before pulling back, he reminds her to take the fox plushie if she likes it.

SZ turns to the remaining boys in the room, asking one if DJ has a girlfriend to which he laughs and replies DJ is too busy to have a girlfriend.

She doesn’t join the boys for a meal after DJ leaves, but she does get him to call her that night after forgetting an exercise book on his desk. He tells her to meet him at the bus stop early in the morning so he can hand it to her.

I’m trying to meet you so I can see you but maybe it’s also fate

Early the next morning, SZ gets ready and heads to the bus station. As she waits, she recalls when she talked DJ into posing as her brother to meet her teacher.

She was anxious and dreaded the meeting that entire day because she’d worked herself into a web that was bound to get her into more trouble. She was certain after the day’s event unfolded, she’d be grounded for life if her parents didn’t end up killing her.

At the end of the school day, SZ was reluctantly walking to the meeting room when caught up in her thoughts, she tripped. The next thing she knows, DJ is beside her bending to help, asking with concern if she’s hurt.

With tension about to erupt, SZ looks up at him in tears she’s trying not to release telling him he’s late, school ended at 4:20 pm. DJ admits he didn’t know that and sincerely apologizes. His tardiness wasn’t part of some twisted game to play onto her fears and anxieties.

Meanwhile, present-day SZ wonders if he’ll also show up this time as she waits at the bus station. He’s late.

Her phone rings and it’s DJ. SZ warns him that if he’s even more late, he’ll never find a girlfriend (quite the threat). As she says that, something presses on her cheek. SZ turns around and finds DJ standing beside her holding a glass bottle of milk against her cheek. He’d gotten there early to go and buy milk for her.

DJ admonishes her for cursing him to remain single then the two head to a nearby café so he can help her with the essay she’d asked him last night to do in her stead.

While DJ buys breakfast, SZ can’t help but recall that day again a couple of years back when she walked with her “brother” to the teacher’s office. SZ’s teacher was expecting a parent, not her brother, but DJ maneuvered expertly to the point the teacher never suspected anything that would warrant calling her parents.

Present DJ sits with a cake for SZ as she works on her homework. When he tells her to drink the milk, she grabs it and places it in her bag instead. DJ doesn’t know what to make of this behavior but the two find peace with each other’s company as one reads while the other writes.

Walking SZ to her school, DJ leaves after placing a folded letter in her bag that SZ finds later in the evening. She reads a silly little story about the day she helped her brother move into his college dorm and met his roommate. The letter ends with a note that the roommate was very happy to meet SZ again.

It’s so embarrassing but I’m glad you’re there

That weekend, SZ and SY are alone in the house so he asks her if she’d like to go grab food. She doesn’t, not with him at least. Of course, her “no” turns into a “yes” when he gets a call from someone and is heard saying he’ll pick that someone up from work before they head to eat.

Thinking SY is talking to DJ, SZ tells her brother to wait until she gets ready to join. A rather annoyed SY tells her to hurry—this sister of his is driving him crazy with all her contrary behaviors.

But someone turns out not to be the one SZ had been hoping for. Luckily, they did end up picking DJ along the way.

In the car, DJ catches SZ’s eye as she throws one of many glances back at him.

“By the way, why didn’t you greet me since I got in the car?” he pointedly asks SZ.

“Hey you,” SZ says.

“You what?” DJ replies.

“Just you” SZ mutters.

“You handsome?” DJ supplies while leaning forward to talk right above her shoulder.

Looking in the opposite direction out the car window, SZ murmurs “You’re not”.

“Then why did you blush when you saw me?” he demands.

SY interferes by calling him shameless to tease SZ mercilessly like that. The other friend in the car, QF, tells SZ not to mind DJ as he’s always kidding.

Arriving at their destination, SY stops the car asking his passengers to disembark while he parks. SZ, however, asks (more like demands) to stay with him for a while. SY doesn’t understand what came over, agitated he tells her he can’t stop there without getting fined.

Outside, DJ opens SZ’s door. SY tells him to take SZ then turns to her and tells her to hurry up because he really can’t stop there. She throws him a dirty look, “You’re really annoying” then gets out of the car and bangs closed the door.

While the two other boys start walking, SZ stays rooted with a troubled expression. Something’s not right. DJ notices her lagging and backtracks.

“What’s wrong? Aren’t you feeling well?” he asks with concern. Is it a stomachache? He’s at a loss.

SZ tells him she needs to use the bathroom first so DJ asks QF to go ahead since it’s already their turn to grab seats. He then turns to SZ and says he’ll accompany her to find a restroom.

“There’s no need, I can find one on my own” she replies. As she forges ahead, DJ follows and notices a stain on her skirt. He saunters even closer but stays behind insisting he’ll go with her. SZ continues walking but keeps turning her head perplexed as to why DJ is following.

As they approach the restrooms, DJ says “Wait, did you bring a napkin?”

SZ looks away realizing he knows what’s going on.

DJ tells her it’s ok if she didn’t, she can wait inside while he buys one. SZ can’t bring herself to reply, she turns and walks into the restroom. She keeps peaking outside and then hugs her bag until she catches a reflection of the back of her skirt on the bathroom mirror. It’s the stain; with a sinking feeling, she can’t help but wonder with great embarrassment if DJ saw it.

Walking at a nearby convenience store, DJ calls SY who’s seated with QF looking at the menu. He tells SY it’s “that time of the month” for his sister.

“What should I do?” a baffled SY asks him.

“Why are you asking me?” DJ replies. SY implores DJ to help buy “it” because he’s never done this before. DJ doesn’t answer but instructs SY to come to the supermarket.

As the boys try to figure out if the “overnight” option is best or whether “42 is longer than 35” among an entire aisle of pads, DJ also tells SY to get a skirt. SY grabs a random one but DJ carefully considers what SZ’s top is and suggests a better option that won’t make it look as though something went wrong with her outfit.

Meanwhile, miserably embarrassed in one of the stalls, SZ can’t stop thinking that he saw the skirt stain. A woman knocks on the stall and asks if SZ is inside. A boy outside asked her to give SZ a bag. Seeing the contents of the bag doesn’t make SZ feel any better.

Outside, SY is waiting and persuades her (with some brotherly force) to go eat because it’s not embarrassing (though he probably doesn’t understand she’s more embarrassed at having DJ witness the whole thing than getting her period in public).

When they get to the table, DJ raises his hand and calls them over. The boys don’t let on anything; QF has no clue of anything that transpired. Suddenly DJ gets up from the table.

SY notices SZ secretly marking something on the menu and reminds her of her limits. SZ tells him one slice is fine but SY is adamant in not taking care of her if something happens. A perplexed QF doesn’t understand what’s going on, after all, he’s paying so SZ can have whatever she wants. An annoyed SY replies that she’s allergic to beef and lamb then proceeds to change SZ’s selection.

DJ returns just in time to catch the part about SZ’s allergy. She turns to him and he hands her a cup of warm water. He got up specifically to get that for her.

The boys start talking; SZ slowly reaches for the plate of beef noodles in the middle. DJ, who seems to notice far too much of what she does yet is good at not letting on, tells her to wait until he eats first.

Wait, what?

He grabs the beef noodle plate and proceeds to pick out the beef slices one by one as SZ, slightly less embarrassed, looks on.