Seok was clothed now, wearing a navy blue T-shirt with black lettering that read Burberry, a brand I'd never heard of before. He had on a matching pair of navy sweatpants with string ties. His left hand was in the pocket of the sweatpants, the right holding onto the handle of his suitcase. "I do not mind sleeping on the couch. I noticed that it has a retractable section which is equipped with a mattress to sleep on, is it not?"

I shuddered, wrapping my arms around my chest. How could his voice be so...awful? I'd never realized until hearing him speak how unsettling it was to not hear any emotion in another person's voice. I'd never realized just how much I depended upon it. Just looking at this guy, ignoring his good looks, there was no way to tell what was going on in his mind. He was a whole other galaxy away from the rest of us. So far, there was no reason to even bother attempting communication.

"I..." Mom murmured, sounding worried. "S-surely you'd much prefer a bed, Seok?"

"The couch will be just fine, Miss Arnold. I assure you, there is no need to worry." He moved around the corner, coming down the hallway. He paused for a few seconds, two feet away from me. "Ah, yes. Selena, I'm sorry for my rough treatment of you earlier. I did explain myself though and I stand by that explanation. Introducing myself formally, I am Seok Kim." He stared down at me since I was ten inches shorter than him. The words he said I'd normally expect to be accompanied by a smile and an extended hand to shake...But nope.

Not Seok Kim.

"Selena Arnold," I muttered, brushing some of my bangs out of my eyes. I had long, straight auburn hair. Unlike my mother and sister, my eyes were brown, and my skin tone was a light caramel color. My father had been some Hispanic one-night stand Mom had had nineteen years back. Maria's had been a Caucasian man though. According to Mom, I'd gotten my auburn hair from my great-grandmother, though I'd never met the woman as she'd passed by the time Mom was seven-years-old.

He nodded once. "Yes. It's been a long time coming that I've been waiting to officially meet you once again, Selena," he commented.

I frowned, rubbing my neck. Seriously, does the guy need to be this freaking tall?! "What do you mean by that?"

"It's nearly eight thirty, you three," Mom interrupted, coming down the hallway. As soon as she did, Seok began to hurry past me and Maria, into the living room.

The three of us followed him. He was quickly pulling out the makeshift bed from the center large section of the couch. He placed his suitcase on the side of the couch, glancing up at us. "Is there more bedding in the laundry room, or perhaps the hallway closet?" he inquired evenly.

Mom started toward her bedroom. "I'll be right back. I have an extra couple of pillows and a blanket in my closet."

Seok sat down on the pull-out, waiting, a blank expression on his face.

"What's your problem?" I demanded of him, feeling my temper spark. How ungrateful could he get? My mom was welcoming him into our home and he acted like none of this mattered to him at all. Sure, he talked the big talk, but he was a freaking ass.

He turned his head to look at me, blinking. Two seconds later, he let out a low exhale. "You're angry...Why are you angry?"

"You!" I growled, getting closer to the couch until I was standing seven feet from him, only the back cushions of the couch separating us. He turned more to face me better. "You're acting like a dick to my family, especially to my mom. Are you too good for a bed from us poor folks or something?"

I didn't know a lot about this guy. Just that Mom supposedly knew his recently deceased father and had apparently been named the guy's godmother. That and his dad had been filthy-stinking rich. Since he wasn't eighteen yet, he was a minor and was forced to have a legal guardian. His dad's house had been out in California, which was much too far away for Mom to be able and try to do anything with Seok. Instead, he'd been shipped across the country to us here, in northern Missouri.

He showed no reaction to my obvious ire. "No. I'm used to sleeping in make-shift, mildly-cramped surroundings. If anything, I find it more comfortable. Besides, this way I will not have to force any of you out of your own rooms. Is that not the best solution? Would you prefer if I bunked in your room or something?" he asked.

I reared back, staring at him in shock. "Of course not!" I hissed in disgust. "I'd move into Maria's room."

"No one's moving rooms, for tonight, at least," Mom huffed in exertion.

Seok was on his feet in half a second, his long legs eating up the distance between the couch and Mom's bedroom door. He bundled up the blanket and pillows into his arms, carrying them without a word to his 'bed'. "Thank you," he glanced over his shoulder before returning his attention to placing the bedding.

"You're very welcome," Mom smiled softly.

I glared at her. "Seriously, Mom. How can you be okay with this?"

She returned my glare, her hazel eyes kindling with her own temper. "Selena Zari, you will be quiet and go to your room, right this instant! You've been nothing but rude to our guest since he arrived, as well as before he even got here. I don't understand how you can't at least try to be more understanding and accepting of this whole situation. It's not like you're the only one who will have to face a lot of change with this. So will Seok, Maria, and I. Stop being a selfish, spoiled brat," Mom snapped.

I gasped, outraged. "Are you seriously saying I'm the selfish one here?!"

"Yes," she replied in a much more controlled voice.

"...Um...I'm going to go to bed now too. Night, Sis. Night, Mom." Maria awkwardly started down the hallway, toward her bedroom. But she shot a shy smile at the couch. "Night, Seok."

"Good night, Maria," he replied, not even looking up from his adjustments to the couch.

"Is it too much to try and sound like you even care a little?" I growled at him.

He slowly lifted his head up, blinking, green eyes clashing with mine. "Yes, it is," he said without any hesitation or emotion. He dropped his eyes once again.

Throwing my hands up in frustration, I spun on my heel, stomping to my room. "You're all freaking crazy!" I shot over my shoulder.

~ * ~

Seok

"I sincerely hope you aren't holding out on Mathew's final clause to come true, Miss Arnold.” My flat voice broke the tense silence that had hung in the air for the last few seconds after Selena had stormed away.

"Please just call me Mackenzie, or Kenzie for short, Seok," she sighed heavily. "This is your home now, for better or worse, until you're eighteen."

"What if it ends up being my home forever?" I found myself asking.

She turned her head to look at me. I knew she did. I could feel her stare burning into my back. Finished arranging my bed, I sat back down and turned to face her. "Then I guess it might be better for you to call me 'Mom' then, huh?" she murmured.

I nodded. "Perhaps...but only if that comes to pass."

"Look, I'm sorry Selena's been treating you so badly," she apologized quickly. "She's always been hot-headed, but I'd never thought she'd go as far as she has recently."

"She's treating me badly?" I asked. "Ah, because of the rude comments she made? That is quite tame, compared to some of the things I've been called before. I simply thought she was trying to be friendly. But perhaps I have confused the two together, after all these years."

A look of horrified sorrow and pity filled Mackenzie's face, but she seemed at a loss for words.

Deciding to just cut to the core of the problem, I looked directly into her watery eyes. "Mackenzie, please tell me you aren't still holding out hope for that last clause to come about?" I repeated once more.

Her face instantly flushed with guilt. "I...Can't a mother hope?"

I eyed her carefully. "That little scene with the shower was planned, was it not?"

Her cheeks flushed harder, but she raised her chin up in defiance. "It never said anything in the clause that I couldn't...help things along."

She's right. It didn't.

Which means there will probably be more of these little 'accidents' I will have to deal with while living with them.

But is it really that bad of a thing? I asked myself. After all, it will be the only real way for me to experience such a 'normal' part of life…

Do I really want to be tied down like that though?

What does it matter? Why bother wasting the energy to think about it, to wonder?

It wasn't like it would ever happen. It wasn't like I'd ever had to worry about it.

"I will promise you one thing. I will not try to hinder any efforts you make to achieve your agenda. But I also will not purposefully give in to the will of Mathew or you. I am an independent being. Still, though, I do understand what it would mean for your family if your hopes come true," I admitted.

She nodded her head. "Thank you. I'll warn you now, today wasn't the only trick I have up my sleeve."

I nodded as well. "Yes, I imagine so. But no matter how hard you try, there is no way Selena will ever marry me. You don't marry the people you hate unless your hands are literally tied together, you are forced down the aisle, and to recite the words. Such will be the only way Selena would ever agree to become my wife."

Makenzie left to go to her room, choosing to not comment on my firm declaration. As I laid out on the pull-out mattress, I closed my eyes, sighing softly. This place would be my new home, whether that time only lasted for a year or more had yet to be seen.

Rolling onto my side, I opened my eyes, watching as my left hand slowly clenched into a fist. "What, exactly, is a home anyway?"