the new kid : hwang hyunjin

i.

"Will I ever be that happy?"

You let out a small sigh as you peered out the airplane window, trying to distract yourself from the turbulence that made you feel nauseous. 

The clouds looked so soft, you wanted to reach through the window and touch them. You knew they were made of small frozen water droplets, but the childish side of you wanted to see if they were like cotton candy. Your thoughts were interrupted by your uncle's loud snoring next to you, making you quietly giggle. 

You were finally going back to Korea after living in Japan for 17 years with your mother and father.

お父さん (Father)... You couldn't help but frown a bit at the thought of the man who was supposedly your father. 

You still don't fully understand why he had to run off with that woman, leaving your mother heartbroken. She couldn't handle the pressure of providing for both of you, so she took her own life, leaving you to fend for yourself on your own. 

You still resented お母さん (Mother) at times, she was so selfish for leaving you on your own because she couldn't handle the pressure. She never bothered to ask anyone for help, you would've been more than happy to help her.

You unknowingly forced a smile onto your face, trying to trick yourself into thinking that you were okay. You lightly kicked the seat in front of you with your Nike Air Force 1's, trying to release your stress. The woman in front of you whipped around and glared at you over her spectacles.

"お母さん" You slightly bowed your head, apologizing. She frowned at you, and you realized you spoke Japanese. "I'm sorry." You repeated your apology in Korean and she nodded at you, satisfied with your apology before turning back around. (a/n thank god she wasn't a karen- i'm kiddinggg don't @ me) You heard your uncle lightly chuckle as he watched your awkward exchange with the woman.

"Eunji, don't forget you're living in Korea now." You stiffened at hearing your Korean name. You were more accustomed to Yui 佑泉, your Japanese name, or Iris, your English name. "Loosen up sweetie, you're fluent enough." Your uncle lightly slapped your back, trying to ease you up. You forced another smile onto your lips and looked down at your phone. You still had about 30 minutes before landing, and you couldn't help but let out another sigh.

"What did you say my cousin's name was?" Your uncle smiled at you, and you felt a tight feeling in your chest. He looked just like your mother, it was scary, but you guessed that's what happens when your mother is a twin.

"Jeongin. Yang Jeongin." You nodded, keeping that name in mind. Your uncle turned his attention back to his laptop, where he was working on his next building project. 

He's an architect, famous in Seoul for his sturdy but modern buildings, and he owned one of the biggest architect businesses in Seoul, and possibly all of South Korea. You stuck your AirPods into your ears and blasted DAY6 music, trying to block out the million thoughts racing through your head.

--

"Jeongin! Come down here! There's someone I want you to meet!" Your uncle hollered, and less than two seconds later, you heard loud footsteps thundering through the big house, and a boy about your age poked his head out of the stairwell smiling, and you couldn't help but notice that he had braces, and he slightly looked like a fox. You stared at him, but before you could introduce yourself, Jeongin grabbed your wrist and pulled you into a tight hug.

You wanted to pull away, but something made you stay. His embrace was so warm, you felt your body physically relax in his arms. Jeongin pulled away as quickly as he pulled you in and introduced himself.

"Hi! I'm Yang Jeongin, and I'm a junior in high school. I just turned 17. How old are you?" You were slightly flustered by his sudden rant, but you quickly caught on.

"I'm Yui." Jeongin cocked his head, as if he was confused. "Oh sorry, I meant Eunji. I'm 18." You replied in a monotone voice, but Jeongin didn't seem to be affected by your cold demeanor.

"Nice to meet you Eunji. Am I supposed to call you noona? I'm gonna call you noona. Come with me, I'll show you where your room is. I've been waiting for you for such a long time!" Jeongin ran back up the stairs, and you stared at your uncle who merely shrugged.

"Go with him." He encouraged you to follow Jeongin, and as you looked up the long set of stairs, you could already feel the strain in your legs.

"Oh, silly me. Here, let me help you with that." In half a second, Jeongin zipped back down the stairs and dragged one of your suitcases back up the stairs.

You muttered to yourself, "This kid... he's so energetic." Your uncle overheard you and laughed.

"You'll find yourself enjoying his company. Now go and wash up, you must be tired from the flight." You nodded. Your uncle was right, your neck was slightly stiff, and you felt incredibly dirty after sitting in that plane for about two hours. You didn't understand how people rode planes for over 5 hours.

You ran up the stairs, and you noticed the photos that hung on the walls. There were photos of Jeongin as a baby, your aunt and uncle when they were younger, and in front of the staircase was the biggest portrait of all. 

The photo was probably taken not too long ago, but it was a family portrait of your aunt, uncle, and cousin. They looked so happy together, smiling widely and their arms wrapped around each other. You squinted at the photo, examining it closely. Their smiles were the opposite of the your parent's smiles in family photos. 

Your parent's smiles were stiff and professional, not crinkling the corner of their emotionless eyes. Your aunt and uncle were different, they were doing the same thing, but how come it seemed more genuine? Could you ever be this happy? 

"Eunji! Are you coming or not?!"

"Coming." 

(a/n: so this is my first ff so it's gonna be really really bad... but please bear with me as i get the hang of it. It's like 2:30 am and i have to wake up early tomorrow but who cares.)