the four of us are watching a movie when i hear the front door open, and i look over the back of the sofa to peer through the arch. juwon walks in, with soccer boots being kicked by the door, and mud all down kris kit. his hair is messy, and he sighs with exhaustion.
"hey." he says, dumping down his bag and then entering the room.
"hi." i smile back to him, surprised that he's not taken aback by having three girls in here and no one else. it's like he was expecting it or something. "how was football?" i ask him. "i mean soccer." i correct quickly, and he smiles to me cheekily.
"not bad. it was a draw, could have been better." he says.
"no slide tackling fouls today then?" i question, referring back to his first game he had when i was here.
"unfortunately." he smiles playfully, then he smiles politely to the girls.
"hey." liv says.
"hey, any of you want a drink?" he says, passing through to the kitchen.
i can't imagine anyone ever disliking this kid. he's such a people-person. he's so different to yeonjun. yeonjun is reserved and quiet in that moody kind of mysterious way until you break down that wall, where as juwon is just happy and sweet to everybody. he's so much like his mom.
a little while later, juwon is upstairs, we're like an hour into the movie, and daeun and i are lying across each other like morons. "this is the last time you'll watch a movie with me as a sixteen year old." she whispers to me like a lil weirdo.
"oh yeah! it's your birthday tomorrow, isn't it?" kendall says, as though daeun and her have been talking about it.
"oh yeah." i laugh slightly, having forgot about it myself again.
"we should do something." daeun says, tucking her cold blonde hair behind her ear excitedly.
"yeah, have you been shopping in times square yet?" kendall asks me.
"sort of." i say. "yeonjun and i went to the disney shop on the way to bubba gumps." i say with a little laugh.
"sorry, you got yeonjun inside the disney shop?" liv says like she can't believe it. "bet he was out of there quick." she laughs.
"no, we spent ages in there." i laugh at the ridiculousness of it. "we picked out each other hoodies and-"
"you did what?" liv asks, almost choking on her drink.
"what?" i ask, laughing slightly.
"he would never do that in a million years." she says. "picking out cute hoodies in the disney shop? that's the last thing i could ever imagine him doing."
"well he did it." i say.
she shakes her head with disbelief. "yeonjun must be fucking in love with you, i swear."
i know she was kind of joking, but those words made me feel sort of excited.
"well, we'll take you back to times square tomorrow after school." kendall says. "we can properly shop, and treat you." she smiles sweetly, showing her flawless teeth contrasting with her lipstick.
i smile slightly. "we really don't have to-"
"oh shut up." daeun says. "it's your birthday you idiot." and everyone chuckles slightly.
then we hear the front door open, followed by paws tapping excitedly along the wooden floor approaching us before the white american eskimo jumps up onto me.
"awww!" daeun squeals.
"oh my god, you're adorable!" kendall squeaks.
"hello jae." liv says in a baby voice, while i stroke the adorable little thing behind the ears.
i peer over the sofa, seeing siwoo walking in, holding hands with jihye.
"hello ladies." she smiles, closing the door behind her.
jihye has gone shy, noticing the unfamiliar faces in the room.
"hi."
"hey."
there's a chorus of greeting.
"you girls not hungry?" she asks, as jihye runs up the stairs.
siwoo amazes me. she's so jolly and sweet. she's amazing at acting happy and cheery, even is she's feeling the pressure of suddenly being the only parent looking after her three children, and the stress of not having her husband around anymore.
later in the evening, the girls have gone, and i'm sat on the sofa with juwon, jihye and siwoo with the tv on, when yeonjun enters the house. it's dark outside now, he's been out with the boys for ages.
"hey honey, have you eaten?" siwoo says.
"i'll grab something now." he says, passing through the living room. i watch him, appreciating his outfit as he goes, and he smirks to me with a playful glint in his eyes, which almost makes me blush. juwon gets up quickly, following yeonjun into the kitchen, where the two of them talk in hushed voices.
what's going on? why can't i go in there?
siwoo sighs exhaustedly as the show finishes before looking down to jihye who's asleep, curled under her arm. "time to hit the hay i think." she says quietly.
i smile to her as she stands, and she scoops up the little five year old in her arms.
"i'll see you tomorrow, chaewon." she says to me quietly.
"goodnight." i respond, as they disappear from the living room.
i look towards the kitchen, feeling the devil's tug tempting me to just going inside. i look back to the tv, turn it off with the remote, and stare at the black screen for a second. i'm thirsty. i need to go into the kitchen to get myself some water. that's it, the temptation is too much.
i stand, walking around the sofa and heading towards the big archway. as i approach, everything looks and seems normal, except the boys stop talking. yeonjun smiles to me weakly. so he's not going to tell me i'm not allowed in here?
juwon heads to the fridge, and i look between them.
"everything okay?" i ask.
"yeah, you want some ice cream?" juwon offers as he opens the freezer.
"ugh...sure why not." i say, sitting at the island opposite yeonjun. "had a nice time with the boys?" i ask.
"yeah." he says. "taehyun ended up coming in the end."
"oh cool. were you just on the roof?" i ask.
"yeah, until kai got drunk and started looking over the edge." he laughs slightly. "we brought him inside after that."
"jesus, you boys need to be careful." i say with a little laugh.
"only kai." he says.
"kai worries me." juwon says, sliding a small tub of ben and jerry's in front of me.
"he worries us all." yeonjun says with a chuckle.
"did you drink?" i ask him.
he shakes his head. "nah, i had to drive home." he says. good boy. no drink driving.
i try to open my ice cream tub. well this is fucking stuck on well.
"struggling?" juwon laughs at me.
"let me do it." yeonjun grins.
"no, i'm determined now." i say, and they both chuckle.
i yelp slightly as suddenly the lid pops off, flying straight at yeonjun. the lid tumbles to the floor, and he freezes with a glare. there's silence for a second, before juwon and i start laughing at the ice cream in his hair. he pouts with a playful scowl which is so cute that i just want to kiss him, except i won't do that because the idea of me initiating a kiss scares me. it's always been him who's kissed me, not the other way around. also, juwon is in the room, so that would be a bit awkward. eventually yeonjun's face cracks into a smile, showing his flawless teeth and gorgeous, perfect dimples.
"you little bitch." he says, picking up the lid and lobbing it at me.
i gasp as i stand, and ice cream is splatted across my cheek. i look at him, mouth agape.
"you did it first." he teases.
"it was an accident, prick!" i laugh, wiping it from my face.
juwon is laughing, looking between us. then his eyes sort of linger on his brother for a second, like he's not used to seeing this smily, playful side to him. "okay, i'm gonna head up." juwon says. "night."
"night." we call after him.
i look back to yeonjun, and he's already looking at me, with a sort of twinkle in his eyes.
"okay, spit it out." i say.
"what?" he asks.
"why did i have to stay in the living room?" i ask.
"well you can't watch a movie from the kitchen, can you?" he says casually, walking around the island to me.
"yeonjun, i'm being serious."
"so am i - that would be highly inconvenient."
i just look at him, and he smiles down at me. what is he up to? my thoughts move on from that matter quickly though as i look at him. he somehow looks really cute and really hot at exactly the same time. should i just do it? should i kiss him? i don't know why the idea of initiating a kiss scares me so much but it does. just do it, chaewon. what could go wrong except from making a bit of mess with the ice cream? why is it so daunting? i never initiate a kiss. i never admit to feeling a certain way about people. i just hope it all kind of happens without me having to admit anything to do anything. i hate being in a place of vulnerability where i could be rejected. with my ex-boyfriend, theo, it was always him who made the first move with everything. i was always so scared to. i don't know why. it's dumb. it's a stupid fear. just get over yourself chaewon.
i'm looking up at him, and i just rise onto my tip toes and do it. there's a second of him being frozen and tensed up like he wasn't expecting it, before he slips his arms around my body as if we were puzzle pieces slotting into place. my heart is pounding, and i can feel his warm body against mine as he pulls me close to him.
we hear footsteps coming down the stairs, so quickly we pull apart. he pulls out his phone casually and i return to my seat on the stool as my cheeks redden.
"forgot my reading glasses." siwoo sings as she grabs them from on top of the magazine that's lying on the counter. she smiles to us. wondering off, oblivious.
i glance back up to yeonjun, seeing him smirking down at his phone, which isn't even on. seeing that smirk makes my stomach swirl in knots. clearly he's pleased that i kissed him, but he's playing it off like the cool guy he is.
"your ice cream is melting." he says as he looks to me playfully.
i smile up at him, and he smiles down to me.