Way Back Home

Chapter 13: Unplanned Surprises

After about thirty minutes, they finally heard a beep signaling the arrival of Sungjae. They grew quiet as they prepared to catch him off guard. After hearing the footsteps grow louder, they all revealed themselves and shouted together...

"SURPRISE BRAT!!!"

...but apparently it was the other way around. It was the hyungs that were surprised.

Sungjae did pick her up... and by her, he meant SoHyun.

To say that the situation was awkward was probably an understatement. Nobody could utter a word after.

SoHyun finally broke the silence. "Um, Oppas... thank you for surprising me! Haha I know I must have been a brat for being gone for a while. But I'm here now again! I missed you all you know!" She then went to each one of them to give them a hug.

*meow, meooooow*

Sami caught everyone's attention as she gave the cutest sound. She then walked casually towards someone who just walked out from the kitchen- an equally shocked Joy.

"Sami! Did you miss mommy?" Joy nervously picked up the cat to hide her awkwardness.

"S-Sooyoung?" Sungjae uttered in disbelief. He knew he totally messed up.

"Umm... ahem... SoHyun! This is Joy. She is like our sister, too. She moved here a couple of months back. You can be... um... sisters, too?" Peniel decided to be the bold one to introduce the two girls to each other.

"H-hi. I'm Joy. Nice to meet you, SoHyun" Joy stepped closer to give a handshake after bowing.

"GO AWAY!" SoHyun suddenly shouted with a high-pitched voice. She sure sounded irritated there.

Realizing what she did, SoHyun tried to redeem herself, "I-I mean... I'm allergic to cats. So, please don't come too near. I'm SoHyun. Nice to meet you too" She then bowed with a forced smile.

Changsub couldn't hide his annoyance. "Maybe we should eat now? The food might get cold. Serve our dear sisters some food, guys. Sungjae and I will prepare the drinks" He eyed at Sungjae, giving him an unsaid warning signal to follow him immediately.

As soon as the two men arrived at the kitchen, Changsub spared no time in scolding his maknae.

"Are you out of your mind, Sungjae?! What was THAT about? You should be thankful your hyungs are civil enough to talk to SoHyun. You haven't even bothered talking about what happened to you guys with them and now you want us to act as if nothing happened?!" Changsub irritatedly said. His blood was boiling at the stupid act he just witnessed earlier.

"H-hyung... I'm sorry. I knew you guys won't be happy with the idea of this party so I didn't tell you right away that it was for SoHyun. But she's going through something personal right now and I wanted to make her feel at home. I'm really sorry... I'll make it up to you guys. I promise. I'll tell you everything soon" Sungjae replied with his head hanging low. He couldn't even look at his hyung right now.

Changsub let out a deep sigh. "Alright... keep your word about that. But care to explain why you also have to drag Joy into this? I've warned you, Sungjae. Don't hurt her" The tension was now rising between the two. Changsub's voice was as serious as it could get. He really has developed a sense of protective sibling relationship with Joy, perhaps even more than SoHyun, after seeing how vulnerable Joy can actually be.

"I don't know, hyung! I swear! I really don't know why she's here. I didn't tell her anything! I'm not ready to see them together as well. Ahhhhh!!! I'm going crazy!!!" Sungjae ran his fingers over his hair.

Changsub clicked his tongue. He could see how his maknae is stuck in such complicated situation. "Well, we're already here. Might as welll face it. Let's go back there and try to make everything as civil as possible, okay? Think more about your plans next time" Changub said while patting Sungjae's shoulder. The least he could do now is give him some comfort.

Back at the living room, everybody was... well, at least surviving. Eunkwang and Minhyuk, being the oldest of the group, tried to be the most mature as well and somehow entertain SoHyun while eating.

Hyunsik and Peniel couldn't care less and just opted to jam out with the karaoke to provide music for everyone.

Ilhoon couldn't hide his bias over Joy so the two were seen gleefully talking about the recent update about their favorite Netflix series.

It was sort of a relief for Sungjae. He went over the table to grab a slice of pizza for himself. He took a big bite and sighed.

Joy, of course, noticed this. She could read Sungjae well... okay, maybe just except his romantic feelings. But she definitely knows when Sungjae is stressed or tired. Being the most natural thing to do like always, she walked towards Sungjae and automatically wrapped her small arms to his waist to give him a back hug. "Recharge, Oppa"

Sungjae smiled. There's always comfort in Joy's hugs.

"OPPA!!!" Sungjae was startled at the sudden outburst of SoHyun from the other end of the room. As a result, he unintentionally pushed Joy away harshly.

Joy flicked at Sungjae's move. Well... that hurt. Joy thought to herself.

"Oppa, I was just excited. Hehe... um come over here! Eungkwang Oppa is so funny he was telling me about how you were forced to dance Red Velvet's song in college for plus points! Why didn't I know about this?" SoHyun faked her laugh while motioning Sungjae to come closer.

"Ah... okay" Sungjae awkwardly said as he sat down beside SoHyun.

Joy was still stunned at the sudden rejection. That was the first time Sungjae ever acted harshly on her. She could feel a pang of pain in her chest.

"Miss Joy, the best baker in town, are you okay?" Changsub reaches for Joy's arm. He already prepared his second scolding for Sungjae later.

What a freaking brat you are Sungjae. You might just regret your actions later.

"I-I'm okay, Changsub Oppa. Oh... now that you've mentioned it. I totally forgot about the orders I have to do today! I guess I have to excuse myself early. S-sorry oppa. Please just excuse me to the others. I don't want to ruin their fun" Tears were now pooling in Joy's eyes and Changsub can see it. He knows that the only best thing he could do now is to let Joy go or else she'll probably break down here with everyone else.

"Alright, Miss Joy. Take care, okay? Tell me if you're going to the grocery" Changsub tried his best to inject some humor to the situation, even if he knows that it would practically be useless anyways.

"Of course, Changsub Oppa. Good things happen when we meet there" Joy sincerely responded. "I'll go now" she smiled and gave a little bow before silently heading out to the door.

Changsub grabbed a slice of pizza for himself and ate it in one bite.

Aish. This is so frustrating! He thought to himself as he looks at the sight of Sungjae and SoHyun.