Angel Lock

Chapter Five: Enviousness and What Lies Behind

Chapter Five: Enviousness and What Lies Behind

Envy n

wanting what somebody else has: the resentful or unhappy feeling of wanting somebody else's success, good fortune, qualities, or possessions

Encarta Dictionary

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"Oh.... my..." Myung-soo said while putting down the telephone.

"Why, what is the problem?" Sung-gyu asked while eating the scrambled eggs he cooked for their breakfast.

"Mom is coming home this afternoon," Myung-soo said.

"Aren't you happy about that?" Sung-gyu said, "At last you'll be able to tell her your success in the contest."

"Yeah, but," Myung-soo looked around and motioned the surrounding. Sung-gyu looked around and he understood what Myung-soo was trying to say. "The house is a mess," Myung-soo gave him a small nod before scratching his head.

"Go to school," Sung-gyu said, "I'll do the cleaning."

"O?" Myung-soo moved closer to Sung-gyu, "Really hyung? You will do that for me?"

"Of course," Sung-gyu said, "This is the only thing I can do to repay you for giving me a place to stay." Myung-soo ran behind him to give him a back hug.

"Thank you so much, Sung-gyu hyung!" Sung-gyu tapped Myung-soo's shoulder and in return, he hugged his hyung tighter. Weirdly, Myung-soo just felt like it was a natural thing to do.

"Hyung, I'm going," Myung-soo said right after the usual school bus was heard.

"Okay, take care," Sung-gyu said. After Myung-soo left for school, Sung-gyu decided to start with the chores, first with the dishes.

Myung-soo would usually tell him every night that he will be doing the dishes. Last night, he didn't, and so Sung-gyu had to battle with tough, already hard rice bits and already foul smelling food left on bowls.

Second, the laundry. Angels have superior intelligence, true, but Sung-gyu had never washed clothes as an angel, so he needed some help from housekeeping books. He was able to get Myung-soo's old books.

"Separate colored from white clothes..." Sung-gyu muttered while dropping the clothes into the washing machine and flipping the book to the next page. As he flipped the book, a picture fell from it to the floor.

Sung-gyu picked it up and looked at it. It was Myung-soo and Sung-jong's picture during their first year in middle school, clearly seen from the uniforms they were wearing. Myung-soo had a peace sign on both hands, while Sung-jong had his right arm around Myung-soo while his left pinched Myung-soo's cheeks.

Sung-gyu traced the smile that Myung-soo had in the picture. They looked so happy that Sung-gyu felt something weird inside of him.

"I wish I were sent to earth by natural process," Sung-gyu tapped Myung-soo as if he was poking the real boy. "If I were born and raised with you, would it be me who was smiling with you in this picture?" he said. Sung-gyu placed the picture back on the book and turned on the washing machine. His next stop: the shelves.

Sung-gyu took a rug and dampened it a little. Then he started wiping dust off the shelves, television, cabinets and every little thing that was placed on each. He even took out all of the books from the shelf and dusted each one before returning them to its proper places.