7 E l e v e n 》 Son Dongpyo

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dongpyo's pov

I could hear Y/n cooking in the kitchen. The sound of chopping onions, washing the vegetables and the pan. When was the last time i heard it?

"Yah, Son Dongpyo-"

"Why are you being so informal?"

I glared at Jinwoo who was placing down the plates carefully.

"It's weird to call someone shorter than me Hyung..."

"You called me Hyung earlier, why are you like this now?"

"Fine... Hyung?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome! ...What are you thanking me for exactly?"

"For coming here... and being with noona."

"What do you mean?"

I stare at the boy. When we finished setting up the table, we sat down. He kept looking down but i could see a smile on his face.

"It's been so long since i've seen Noona bring a friend home... or even be seen with a friend... because of the accident... She was always busy..."

"Accident? What accident?"

"... Noona didn't tell you? I thought she'd at least tell one of her closest friend... I guess i shouldn't-"

"nOpE! You gotta tell me now. Besides, Y/n and I are best of friends!"

Jinwoo gives me a judging look as if he knew something wasn't right. I mean to be fair, i did lie to him. Y/n and I aren't close. I have a feeling she'll strongly deny what i said if she were to hear it.

"Okay well... i guess i can tell you."

Holy shit- he fell for my lie?

"2 years ago... our parents died in a car accident... During the funeral, noona didn't cry at all... The adults thought she was heartless and was being rude. In truth, i saw her cry after everyone left. She was holding on to our family picture and kept crying. She kept on repeating the words, 'I have to take care of them. I need to.' So ever since then, she's been taking care of us like our mother..."

"Us?"

"Ah. Jinhyuk Hyung and me. Jinhyuk Hyung is our older brother. He is working abroad right now... At first it was fine since we had insurance and inheritance but... our money started to lessen. Noona and Jinhyuk Hyung tried to hide it from me saying i was too young to understand..."

He then folds his arms and sighs.

"But in truth i am really smart. In fact, i am actually doing better than Noona from when she was my age..."

Wow does he know how arrogant he sounda right now?

"But i knew that wasn't the reason why she hid it from me... She hid it from me cause she didn't want to make me worry. Jinhyuk Hyung works overseas so he could earn money for us. At first I was against it cause... after losing our parents, i didn't want to lose him either. But then i had to understand... He gives us a monthly allowance. Half for the bills and the rest for our school fee... we were actually thinking of going to our relatives for help but... none of them wanted to... So Noona had to work."

"At such a young age?"

He nods and started to frown.

"She started with babysitting but it wasn't enough to buy groceries. So she took another job and started working in a restaraunt but she got fired after they found out she lied about her age... She started working at a coffee shop, but the coffee shop closed down... I thought she would just give up... but she didn't. She did errands and she would come back home sweaty and a mess. She would help pet sit dogs even though she's so scared of them..."

"Doesn't she work at 7Eleven though?"

"Ah. So you know about that? Well, apparently the owner felt bad for our situation that he decided to take her in. I've met him once and he was very nice!"

Jinwoo smiles. The fact that i know who the owner is makes me feel weird. Jinwoo then loses his smile.

"Although we're doing well now thanks to Jinhyuk Hyung sending us a bigger monthly allowance and noona working in 7Eleven... I feel bad. I feel bad for not being able to do anything. I'm too young to work and i can't even help Noona cook. I almost chopped my finger once... I feel sorry for Noona... because she has to take care of me, she can't hang out with her friends. She can't go home late from a concert anymore. She can't have fun outside anymore..."

"It's not your fault... in this kind of situations, you should appreaciate your sister..."

I know how it feels to lose a parent... but unlike you, i had no one to take care of me. My father treats me like i'm never there...

"That's why... Thank you, Dongpyo Hyung... Thank you for being with Noona... she must've been lonely... Please take care of-"

"Yah, Lee Jinwoo i don't need anyone to take care of me. I can take care of myself."

Y/n says as she place the food on the table. First was kimchi fried rice as the main dish. The side dishes were seasoned spinach, boiled beef and mixed namul. It wasn't much compare to what i eat with X1 in restaurants but for some reason just looking at it makes me feel like it was precious.

Y/n took a seat beside Jinwoo as she takes a bowl of kimchi fried rice. Jinwoo whispers to me.

"It probably doesn't look much since you're a rich hyung but it taste good since noona cook it."

"Yah Lee Jinwoo, stop talking and eat."

Y/n uses her chopstick to put namul on Jinwoo's plate. I continue staring at the food. Jinwoo whining about hating namul while Y/n nagging at him could be heard. Suddenly, Y/n placed a piece of beef on my kimchi fried rice.

"And you Son Dongpyo. Stop judging my food and eat."

I snapped out of my daze and picked up my chopsticks. I took a bite. It's strange... When was the last time i felt this warmth of being in a dinner table? I never felt this warmth when i was in fancy restaurants with X1. In the expensive restaurants my dad takes me. In the bbq place i go to with classmates. In the food i ordered by delievery... when was the last time...

When was the last time i tasted homemade food?

"... Son Dongpyo? Why are you crying?!"