The cicadas sang, their humming travelling through the humid breeze. Every surface the sun touched sizzled, including the stone courtyard in the middle of the quaint hanok house.
Seunghyeon sat in the outdoor walkway and scooted back into the shade, grumbling. Airing out his shirt, he scanned the courtyard, from the grey stone fence with the rickety metal gate to the closed sliding doors leading to the kitchen. Silence.
With nothing to do until their neighbour drops something off, Seunghyeon rolled onto his side and pulled out his phone, dialling Sunny.
They had been good about staying in contact. Texting and sending pictures every day. Though, seeing Kwangsun's face in real-time was rare.
He adjusted his hair in his video before the call picked up and he was greeted by a giant nose taking up the entire screen. Seunghyeon jerked back.
"Uh... hello?"
The person- or kid pulled back from the screen and said something that was definitely not Korean or English.
Seunghyeon blinked and furrowed his brows. "Is Kwangsun there?" he asked, slowly in English.
The kid looked equally confused. Behind him, two legs appeared, climbing over the couch the kid must have been hiding behind. The kid gasped and whipped around. "Tayo! No! Tayo!" He shrieked and dropped the phone.
With the thudding of multiple running feet and inaudible yelling and the camera violently shaking, Seunghyeon sniggered as there was a click of a lock and the shaking stopped.
"Sorry about that," Kwangsun said, holding his phone up, relieving his bright smile. "Hey, kitty, what's up?"
Seunghyeon chuckled and laid his head on his arm. "Nothing, just bored," he said, his smile softening as he took in Kwangsun's face. Videos really had nothing on the real thing. "Was that one of your cousins?"
"Yup. He's going through his annoying phase. Thinking he can go around picking up people's phones," Kwangsun tsked before using his hand to cover his yawn.
"It's okay. We were both equally confused," Seunghyeon said. "What was he saying, by the way? He was saying something like 'tayo'? Does that mean help?"
Kwangsun chuckled. "No, it's my name."
Seunghyeon perked up. "Your name?"
"Yeah. My family here calls me Eyitayo. Tayo for short. It means sufficient joy. According to my dad," Kwangsun said, smirking before turning offscreen. By the way he touched his face, he was looking into a mirror.
Seunghyeon nodded, a smile tugging on his lips as he watched him. "That's cool," he hummed. He hadn't heard a name like that before and the meaning was very fitting. "Maybe I'll start calling you Tayo too," Seunghyeon piped up, giggling.
"No," Kwangsun snapped. Seunghyeon paused, being met with Kwangsun's comical pout with his eyes deeply furrowed. Seunghyeon's heart skipped, which he brushed off by rolling his eyes.
"Keep calling me Sunny. You're the only one that does," Kwangsun said nonchalantly and turned back to the mirror.
Seunghyeon blinked. His cheeks grew hot and he fought the urge to curl into a ball. "Fine," Seunghyeon managed dramatically. He shook his head before focusing back on the screen. "Why's he there, anyway? I thought all your young cousins were staying with your grandma?"
Kwangsun clicked his tongue. "Yeah, but all the young ones made a fuss yesterday. So, he, his brother and my sisters stayed the night. Though, we're definitely sending them back after breakfast. We're going to pick up our suits today and there's no way we're taking the kids into the city."
"Okay, got it." Seunghyeon grinned, fondly shaking his head.
"You're so lucky you have a big family." And with the parents and the young cousins staying at the grandmother's house, with the older cousins staying at the eldest cousin's to help with the wedding preparations... Seunghyeon groaned and tossed his head back. "You're having so much fun! I'm so jealous."
"It's fun. But super busy," Kwangsun said. He leaned against the door. "Next time, I'll bring you here. You'd get along with everyone."
Seunghyeon perked his head up. "Really?"
Kwangsun nodded as they locked eyes. "Yeah."
His heart skipped a beat and Seunghyeon tore his gaze away. He pressed his hand to his cheek, the heat was getting to him.
"So"–Kwangsun cleared his throat–" What are you up to? Where is everyone?"
Seunghyeon sighed. "Busy." He stretched his arm up, holding the phone above him. "Eomma, Appa and Myungsuk went to go buy fruit. And Taeyong-hyung and Daehyun-hyung went to the graveyard to pay respects to his mom."
Kwangsun shot up. "Wait, who? Chanri?"
Seunghyeon laughed. "No, stupid." Seunghyeon shook his head. "Daehyun's other mother. Chanri's wife. Do you think I'd be sitting around here if she just died?"
Kwangsun let out a deep sigh and shrugged. "Just wanted to make sure," he said, slowly nodding. "So, is she from that town? Is that how you guys know Daehyun?"
"No, she's Korean-American. But she wanted to be buried 'on Korean soil' so that's how we know them." Seunghyeon smirked. "If it wasn't for me, we'd never know them."
"Really?" Kwangsun raised his eyebrow.
"Yeah," Seunghyeon scoffed. Seunghyeon sat up and held his chin up. "If I didn't have perfect aim and hit Daehyun-hyung with a tennis ball, he would've never scolded me, and Taeyong-hyung would've never apologized on my behalf."
Kwangsun laughed. "So, you're like an aggressive cupid?"
Seunghyeon nodded. "Yup." He smirked and wiggled his eyebrows. "I'll smack people in the face with anything. My hands, a ball, my shoe–"
"–All for the sake of love?"
"Well, there doesn't have to be a reason." Seunghyeon winked.
Kwangsun laughed wholeheartedly. Its warmth resonated in Seunghyeon's chest. He tugged his shirt up, hiding his burning cheeks and dopey grin.
"I can't wait for summer to end," Seunghyeon confessed, peeking up at his screen.
Kwangsun sobered down and his eyes softened. Gentle and honest. "Me too."
Seunghyeon hummed and laid there, staring at the screen with the corner of his lips curling up. After the summer, they could start from where they left off. Maybe something would really happen. Something real.
"Hello? Is anyone home?" A familiar voice called out. Seunghyeon perked up as their neighbour, a plump older woman leaned over the short gate, squinting around.
"Ah," Seunghyeon turned back to the screen. "Sorry, I have to get this," he said as he slipped on his slippers and scooted off the ledge, padding across the tile path to the gate.
"It's okay, just tuck me in your pocket," Kwangsun said and picked up a toothbrush. "I should get ready anyway before everyone starts banging on the door."
Chuckling, Seunghyeon tucked his phone into his back pocket.
"Hello, auntie. How are you?" Seunghyeon said and unhooked the short gate, the hinges squeaking as he held it open for her.
"I am well, Seunghyeon. How are you? You're looking as pretty as ever," she said and picked up the hefty jar by her feet with a groan. She bounced it on her knee before waddling in with it on her hip.
"Uh, I'm good." Seunghyeon chuckled sheepishly before stepping forward. "Let me carry that," he said, the fragrance of the homemade kimchi hit him, and his stomach grumbled.
"No, nonsense," she said, swatting his arms away. Seunghyeon bit his tongue as he led her inside, one eye on the jar. "You didn't have to make so much, you know. It's so much work."
"Most of this is for Taeyong and the baby," she said and placed it down on the ledge. She stood up and placed her hands on her hips with a huff. "Kimchi is good for pregnancy," she said and wiped the back of her hand over her forehead. "Can I get some water before I go?"
Seunghyeon nodded. "Of course," he said and kicked off his slippers as he stepped up and headed inside. If he had a dollar for every time someone said something was good for pregnancy, he'd be a millionaire.
He filled up a glass in the kitchen and padded back over, handing it to her. He sat down, the kimchi jar between them, drumming his fingers against the lid.
"Wah, I can't believe Taeyong is pregnant," she said, smiling to herself. "I remember when he was born. Right in this very house!" She fondly shook her head. "Wah, now look at where he is. In a big skyscraper in Seoul."
Seunghyeon nodded his head politely. "Yes, it is crazy how time flies," he hummed, picking at the rim of the lid. Soon it will be his.
She nodded. "Yes. And soon it'll be your turn."
Seunghyeon jerked his head up, blinking. "Excuse me?"
With a laugh, she patted Seunghyeon's knee. "Don't act surprised. Soon you'll find a good alpha and settle down," she said and pulled back. "Maybe you'll get lucky like Taeyong and catch yourself a rich one."
Seunghyeon shifted, dragging his palm over where she touched. "I don't know," he said and glanced away. "I'm not looking–"
"–Well, here you're not," she said. "Daehyun is an exception. No other alphas are passing through this town." She shook her head and tsked. "You shouldn't be spending your time in this town full of betas. You should've stayed back in Seoul to look."
"What's wrong with betas?" Seunghyeon asked, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. His dating life was none of her business. Besides, why was she hating on betas when she was one too?
"Awe, Seunghyeon," she said, her tone tender, but made Seunghyeon clench his jaw. "Omegas and betas shouldn't mix. Do you remember how much your parents struggled with you three? They had no clue how to raise omegas."
"Yet, we turned out fine," Seunghyeon snapped.
Pressing her lips into a tight line, she stood up and placed the glass down. "I should get going. The sun will go down soon."
"Yes, I think that's for the best," Seunghyeon said, ignoring the sun directly above them. He led her to the gate, taking a deep breath through his nose as he closed it behind her.
She took a step forward before turning around. "Your parents didn't work so hard to leave this town, just so you could marry someone mediocre."
Seunghyeon gaped, staring at her back as she walked away. Snapping his jaw shut, his pheromones burst out in metallic anger. He spun on his heels and stomped back to the house. "Bitch."
He halted in the middle of the courtyard and took a deep breath before fishing his phone out of his pocket. "Hey Sunny are you–"
Seunghyeon read the message over and his chest squeezed. Running his fingers through his hair, he sighed. He probably got booted out of the bathroom and had to end the call.
Seunghyeon gnawed at his bottom lip as the three dots appeared at the bottom of the screen as Kwangsun typed.
Seunghyeon chuckled and fondly shook his head. Kwangsun had a surprisingly good ear. He paused, squinting his eyes. How much of that did Kwangsun hear?
With a tsk, Seunghyeon shook his head. "Forget it," he muttered. He tucked his phone away and carefully picked up the kimchi jar, carrying it into the kitchen.
It wasn't like he would have heard anything important.