daybreak || minsung

Chapter 9

I got dressed in a flannel shirt and jeans. That's what Rough 'N' Tumble people wore, right? I made my way downstairs and fixed myself a bowl of cereal. I was displeased with having to spend the sunny day with humans, but it felt like one of those things a person has to do to remain a productive member of society. I sat down at the table and shovelled soggy Cheerios into my mouth.

Charlie sidled up to me as I was washing my bowl and spoon in the sink.

"Good morning," he said.

"Good morning," I replied.

"What are you up to today?"

I'd assumed he'd heard about the beach trip through the parental grapevine. I was about to speak when he kept talking.

"Because I thought we could go hiking."

My eyebrows jumped. "Oh."

"Yeah, it'll be fun. You talking about Goat Rocks gave me the idea — but I promise there won't be bears."

I blinked.

"It's just — I feel like I haven't spent any quality time with you. It's like you're living in my house, not living with me. I'm your dad. I want to, you know, hang out with you."

How was I going to say this to him? He seemed excited. "I kind of already made plans."

His eyebrows tilted sideways in a pout. "Oh. Um, that's okay, Minho."

"But I'll cancel," I tacked on. I honestly had no idea what to expect from the day now, but it was sweet Charlie was asking. "I want to hang out with you, too."

He smiled, his spirits (and moustache) lifting. "Great. I'm ready whenever you are."

I smiled back, but it disappeared as I realized I'd have to cancel on Mike. Conversing with people was miserable — telling them I was ducking out of plans last minute was even worse. I had zero practice (surprise, surprise, I didn't have many friends back in Phoenix) and talking on the phone was so awkward. It felt like I was talking to myself, but someone else was listening.

I slinked toward the landline. After a good five minutes of searching for the right Newton in the yellow pages, I reluctantly pressed Mike's number into the keypad.

He answered. "Hello?"

"Hey, Mike." I twirled the cord around my finger. "It's Minho."

"Hi, Minho," he replied. "What's up?"

"I can't go to La Push."

The line was quiet. "Oh."

"My dad and I are going hiking. It was unexpected. I'm sorry."

"It's fine. See you on Monday, I guess."

"Yeah. Sorry. Bye."

I hung up. Poor clingy Mike just couldn't catch a break.

Charlie and I ambled into the forest behind the house. It was blindingly green and really pretty. The brown earth crunched and squished under my feet...

I couldn't help but think about Jisung. The scenery was quiet and mysterious and beautiful — like him. I wondered what it would be like to go on a hike with him. I wondered what he and his brother were doing at Goat Rocks right now. I wondered why they were hiking in a hunting range riddled with bears and if I should be worried...

I wondered a lot of things. When a break appeared in the tree canopy above me, I wondered if he was looking at the same sky, thinking the same thoughts, as I was.

Charlie made me kneel in the dirt so he could illustrate just how marvellous a specific kind of moss was. I forgot everything he said as soon as he said it. He used a lot of big words, but I thought he was faking it. He was poking at a squishy green thing, telling me about the phenomenal tea it made, and then realized mid-sentence that it was a slug.