“So, while all these projects are ongoing here, we will start negotiating on the refurbishment of the old town as soon as we sign the shares transfer agreement. Don’t worry too much about the projects here as we have managers managing each of them. Alright, we shall wrap up the report here for now and see you in town within the next two days…” Ryu announced over a video conference call with Jason where the brothers were updating him on the progressive projects they had on hand and having to hear from him his ongoing projects as well.

“Sure… I will be in town two days after.” Jason informed as Ray pretended to check his phone and nudge Jin. Jin raised an eyebrow at him while Ryu continued to wrap things up with Jason.

“Oh, that’s perfect! Mr. Ophal will be holding a simple celebration after the signing of the agreement. Hope you could make it with your secretary.” Ryu informed while Ray purposely whispered loudly to Jin to tease Jason.

“You should ask Cassie to prepare something mature for Ivy like the night she waltzed with Dad. Her dress was gorgeous that night…” Ray said as Ryu tried to contain his laughter while Jin rolled his eyes and adjusted his glasses but couldn't help to smile a little. Jason knew the brothers were deliberately trying to tell him about Ivy while he couldn't contain his curiosity about how Ivy was adapting so far.

They could hear Jason clearing his throat. “ Yes, sure I will ensure my secretary comes along as well. How come I don’t see the biggest shareholder in the meetings so far?” Jason couldn't help but ask the question as the brothers tried hard not to laugh and maintain their professionalism.

“Ivy is still under training and there’s a lot for her to pick up… Besides, her tasks are more related towards the higher management end…” Jin explained while Jason couldn't help but feel glad to hear that Ivy has been adapting well.

In actual fact, Ivy hasn’t been involved with Jason's part of the business venture as her father intended to slowly hand over the operations matters to her after she recovered while Jin was also supposed to guide her with their company accounts so that she could help him to keep an eye while he has exams.

“Alright, if there’s nothing else, we shall see you in the next few days, Jason…” Ray said as he broke a momentary silence. “Yes, sure! Thanks, everyone…” Jason said before the brothers quickly shut the video call and had a good laugh.

“Did you see how long he take this time to ponder when we spoke about her taking on different tasks... I wonder if he was disappointed that they might not get to work together…” Ray laughed as the brothers walked towards the music room.

“They both need some pushing to move on man…” Jin said before taking his seat by the piano when Ryu caught sight of Ivy sitting by the balcony alone with a gloomy look. He knew his sister must be bored and perhaps missing Jason too as he decided to take his acoustic guitar to cheer her up. After all, Ryu was the only one who knew Ivy since she started out as Jason’s fake girlfriend. He had known a little of their past and lately how well he had taken care of his sister. He couldn’t help but envy them and still hope for the best for them especially since Ivy is his sister now.

Ivy sat alone after lunch, zoning out by the balcony with their family dog, Daisy since the brothers were busy with work. With Sandra and Andrew decided to come by themselves later in the week in order to source for more internship interviews and she was temporarily put on recovery at home although occasionally she would eavesdrop on her brothers’ discussion in the morning, she often find herself falling into deep soul searching.

Ivy couldn’t wait for the shares transfer ceremony as that would be her only chance to see Jason. In actual fact, Ivy was skeptical to ask Jason about his confession for fear that it was just an illusion and as for Jason, he was afraid of rejection from Ivy that he didn’t go to clarify himself again with her.

As she sat and watched the rain on a gloomy afternoon, trying to sort out her thoughts and emotions, in mind, she knew practically her life and future had been set on the right path. However, a part of her heart still felt something was missing as her mind drifted back to the night in the abandoned house with Jason.

“You’re missing him… Just admit it…” Her mind resounded to her as she pouted and forced her tears from welling as she blinked hard.

“Stop thinking about it… It has to be over with Jason… Nothing happened in fact, to begin with. It was all an illusion in your mind. The feelings will fade. Just stay away from him and hope for the best for him… He might not have confessed that night and you have been hallucinating… He was being nice last night that’s all, Ivy. Stop overthinking…” Ivy tried coaxing herself as she folded her legs and supported her heavy head onto her knees.

A beep sound from her phone was heard as she lifted her head to check the text message only to find a reminder from Cassandra to drop by her boutique to try out her dress for the shares transfer ceremony. She quickly replied in acknowledgment as she recalled Cassandra’s offer for tea to tell her about the past between Jin and Cassandra.

Ivy sighed as she thought to herself while watching the rain. “My own love issues are a mess… What’s the point of bothering a happy couple’s past, Ivy?”

Rainy days used to be a comfort when her grandma left but these days, they just seem to bring back the memories of Jason with her. Ivy had not realise it before but the best memories she had with Jason were often on rainy days; lost in the jungle and her close first kiss, her first dance to their first encounter. There were days that were so scorching hot that Ivy wished for it to rain cause rain made her feel close to Jason by reminiscing these memories.

“The close kiss… So a confession did happen, didn't it?” Ivy thought to herself as she squinted her eyes, confused by her hazy memories.

Ryu who had been standing by the side and watching her fidgeting couldn't help but step in and offer her some comfort. A tap on Ivy’s right shoulder startled her as she turned to her right to see Ryu with his acoustic guitar. She smiled as she blinked trying to hide her feelings of wanting to be alone.

Trying to be oblivious to Ivy’s reaction, Ryu took a seat by the sofa next to her as they sat back to back each other with Daisy hopping onto her lap. He started to strum his guitar to a song he composed but had no lyrics yet as he tried singing it impromptu to her. Surprisingly, Ivy didn’t stop him but instead lean on his back even more at the soothing tune. After a while, Ivy had some inspiration as she randomly sang her thoughts out.

“Hey…

How’s it going?

You may laugh and smile

You may say you’re alright”

Ivy sang the first verse she made up which cracked a smile on Ryu as he strummed, even more, to build up the tempo.

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“But I know…

It hurts”

Ivy continued as Ryu frowned at the lyrics which seemed to be expressing her exact feelings.

“But I want you to know

You have me

I will always be by your side

For you to lean on

Rant on

Do all you want”

At the interlude, Ivy had more or less learned the tune. She began to fall in love with the song itself.

“Cause I want you to know

You’re strong

You’re the sunshine to my moody days

You’re the glimmer of hope on my lucky days

You’re more than who you think you are to be…”

Ivy sang the chorus beautifully as he repeated the entire song again and Ryu joined her in her last chorus as it was catchy.

“Just know I am always by your side…” Ryu ended the last verse as Ivy gave him a round of applause. Ryu bowed a little as he smiled.

“Did you compose the song?” Ivy asked as Ryu nodded. “And you just helped me complete it with superb lyrics…” Ryu praised.

“Cool…” Ivy mumbled as she leaned on his shoulders. It brought back even more memories with Jason from the time he helped his band out to the times he sang to her in those events she helped him out during his emcee job.”You know I used to have a crush on you when I first saw you…” Ryu began to explain as Ivy tried to stop him by lifting her head to look at him. “I know… Ray told me all about it… Well, I’m sorry… I am your sister now…” Ivy laughed as she continued to lean on his shoulder. Ryu chuckled as he continued to say what he wanted.

“I was trying to ask you about something actually but it’s alright… You sang well you know… Did you learn music before?” Ryu had been suspicious if it was Ivy who joined the band competition as the mysterious drummer of Burning Ember ever since they were announced as winners. Instead, he tried to distract her from thinking too much as lines were appearing on her forehead when she frowned.

“No… Just maybe a little piano from my high school friends and drums by ear…” Ivy said softly as she missed the times she practiced for the competition. However, Ryu knew she was still not distracted by the tone of her voice.

“If you miss him, just find him…” Ryu urged as Ivy looked away. Ryu sighed at his effort and decided to distract her with his doubts. He couldn’t help but ask this time about his suspicions.

“Are you actually Burning Ember’s replacement drummer?” Ryu asked skeptically out of the blue as Ivy immediately jolted up from his back and had all her attention on Ryu’s question.

“How did you know?” Ivy gasped loudly as Ryu chuckled.

“I was suspicious at first but now I could connect the dotted lines. After all, the competition was a big thing at Manes… You were cool, sis!” Ryu gave two thumbs up as Ivy smiled proudly.

“You do well too with music… You’re a great composer.” Ivy complimented as Ryu smirked.

“Well, I am not the only one…” Ryu teased as Ivy raised an eyebrow.

“Come, you haven't toured the house much have you…” Ryu led her down the hallway with Daisy tagging along to the last room on the floor and opened the door to it. Ivy could hear the noisy drums banging accompanied by the piano. When she entered she saw Jin by the white grand piano looking so charming while Ray was so punk by the drums as he did several fill-ins.

“Yo, yo bros! Let’s welcome a new addition to the band member!” Ryu announced as they all gave Ivy a round of applause. Ivy stood dumbfounded as she giggled.

“Since when did I agree to be a part of your band?” Ivy questioned as she snarled playfully at Ryu.

“Let me tell you all… My suspicion that she is the mysterious drummer of …” Ryu was about to announce to the brothers of Ivy’s identity when she tried to jump at Ryu to shut him up but to no avail as she was the shortest among all four of them.

“Shut up! You don’t have to tell the whole world!” Ivy scolded loudly trying to drown his last words while chasing Ryu and jumping at him which send everyone into laughter when Ryu finally caught her and pinned her down to the ground.

“Drummer of Burning Ember!!” Ryu yelled as Ivy smacked him continuously on his right hand. “Is that why you have been sitting alone, missing Jason?” Ryu asked half-serious as he looked straight into Ivy’s eyes while she stopped hitting him. Ivy was taken aback for being caught off guard but was also up for mischief as she raised her right leg and knocked Ryu over to the ground before she flipped over and stood up.

“Bully!” Ivy accused as Ryu chuckled. No doubt, Ryu was good at catching her off guard but her reflexes were at the speed of light.

Jin clapped as he walked over. “Wow, we think you were awesome sis! Well, at least better than Ray…”

“Well, I am forced to play the drums when I rather sing…” Ray complained.

“Let’s give it a try then? The new song, Ryu just composed. I love the tune… We composed the lyrics earlier. I will write them down now…” Ivy suggested as she quickly pen down the lyrics and gave them to Ray.

“But we don’t have the notes written for the piano…” Ivy lamented when she looked at Jin as Ryu winked.

“He plays by ear like you too…” Ryu snapped his fingers to Jin to follow his tune as on the first verse, it was solo Ryu on acoustic guitar accompanying Ray’s singing.

When Ray sang, it was so captivating that Ivy forgot to pay attention to Jin and Ryu by her side till Ryu whistled at her. Only then did she try to focus on his guitar notes and slowly include her own fill-ins on the drums. Ivy was very impressed at Ray for being able to sing from low notes to the highest tenor notes effortlessly while the other two brothers were so in sync that she counted her blessings for being able to play by ear too. Otherwise, she wouldn't have had such a blast with her brothers.

When the song ended, they all applauded each other as Ivy sat with a sad smile staring at the snare drum reminiscing her time with Jason practicing for his band’s competition. Her brothers noticed she was zoning out again as Ray walked over to her.

“You know you’re not alone anymore? You could tell us and we won't let dad know. We share secrets among each other too…” Ray comforted as he patted her head. Ivy could only smile as she gave a look that she wasn’t ready to share with them yet.

“Hey sis, you know you’re quite a tough woman… You could topple down Ryu so effortlessly… Would you like to pick up on martial arts?” Ray suggested as he changed the topic. “Yea, you should learn from him! He has a black belt in taekwondo!” Ryu cheered from afar.

“Really? Well, I don’t mind…” Ivy smiled shyly. “Great! Let’s spar every two days and I will teach you the techniques!” Ray explained excitedly as Ivy nodded with a bright smile.

“You’re not the only one who misses him… He misses you too… Ivy, believe it or not, if a guy is not interested in you, he won't ask about you in every single meeting through us. Both of you haven't cleared things yet have you?” Jin said suddenly rising from the grand piano as Ivy looked at him, surprised, and shook her head while the other two brothers chuckled. Ivy couldn’t help but smile a little learning about Jason checking on her in every meeting.

“What happened that night Ivy?” Ryu tried to pry but Ivy kept looking down on the ground shyly, trying to avoid the question but she knew she would only worry them even more.

“Let me resolve it myself… I will clarify with him during the ceremony…” Ivy explained with conviction.

“Oh, please do! I can't bear to listen to him trying to find ways to ask about you…” Jin said as he rolled his eyes in annoyance before sitting back down on the piano chair.

“And… We have mobile phones these days… Call him…” Ryu teased.

“Text him if you’re too shy…” Ray joined in to tease Ivy as everyone end up laughing before getting back in position to prepare for their next song.

Ivy couldn’t help but giggle as she was grateful for the life she was leading and a family who cared a lot as she stopped thinking about all her problems for a while and just enjoyed the company of her brothers.