even though sunoo would have slapped me for it, i still finished a cigarette yesterday night. after the dinner with the boys, i caught myself in the living room while reading through a few documents.
and this was how jake found me this morning: piled up on the sofa while being surrounded with paper. he hit me with a pillow and laughed: "get ready. the car is waiting outside."
i gasped and looked at him: "he's here? already?"
"just kidding. i'm supposed to drive you to your new apartment because firstly, you don't have a car yet and secondly, we're going to pick up some defense tools."
jake motioned a gun and made "pew pew" sounds before picking up the papers and neatly putting them on the table. i got up and fixed my shirt before walking into the kitchen where jay greeted me: "seems like the penguin finally woke up from its slumber."
"shut up.", i groaned and took the food he handed me, "i stayed up to read through that girl's files. all i found out was that she loves their dog. the rest of the documents were about her lovely brother." the older one laughed out loud and shook his head: "do you at least know her name?"
"yeah, her last one."
jay almost dropped the spoon as he wheezed, not expecting the answer he was looking for. i just silently ate my breakfast and thought how to introduce myself later.
"by the way.", the other one tried to gain my attention, "due to the mission, you won't be here often. i'm sorry if we gave you the feeling we wanted you gone, hoon. we surely don't want to, but we all know you'd be perfect for this task and... you know... i'm going to miss you. so call or text me whenever you're free, alright?"
"it is way too early to get that emotional, park.", i chuckled, "but i know that already. we're brothers after all, so i'm counting on you as much as you're counting on me."
we patted each other's shoulders before breaking out in laughter, causing jake to barge in and ask if everything was okay. but soon after, he joined our happy hour as well.
——— 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐒𝐊𝐈𝐏
after jake has helped me arranging my things in my temporary home, he left already since the jeon wonwoo was going to visit me soon. not going to lie, this fact made me shiver. how was he like? would he kill me if i made one single wrong move?
when i sat on the couch and went through the group chat, i suddenly heard the front door clicking, signalising someone was about to go in. holy shit, he also has the code?
immediately standing up and rushing to the door, i saw a young man calmly taking off his shoes. he was definitely taller than i expected.
the guy looked up and spotted me before shaking my hand firmly: "so they chose you for this! nice to meet you, i'm wonwoo." who was i to refuse the handshake? "park sunghoon.", i nervously introduced myself before breaking off the physical touch.
"this deal must have caught you off-guard, huh? sorry for that, it was kind of urgent." he shamelessly walked past me and examined the unit: "damn, i haven't been here for ages! please take care of my apartment, alright?"
"yes, sir."
just then, he saw the pack of cigarettes on the couch table and frowned: "you smoke?"
"shit, my bad. i wanted to hide them. sunoo told me you're not a fan of smoking-"
"for fucks sake, this is such a lousy brand." he pulled out a small box out of metal and put them in my hands. "try cigars, buddy. they're way better. and i don't know what sunoo told you, but i just don't like smoking around suyeon. she's quite sensitive about that topic."
"suyeon?", i repeated after him and tilted my head.
"my lovely sister. that's why we're here, right? doesn't she have such a beautiful name? that brat has such a wicked attitude though." he scoffed. "have you walked around the apartment yet? balcony?"
"everything's fine! i really like it here.", i politely replied and showed him a thumbs up.
"good. before we go, i have two favours to ask for." wonwoo suddenly walked towards me and poked my chest: "one: keep this unit as clean as you can. not only is this my property, but suyeon also knows the code and could barge in anytime. i do not want her to experience a messy boy's property." holy shit, this guy really loves protecting his sister and scare me as well.
"two: i hired you to protect and watch over her. mainly because i'll be overseas for my own missions soon. don't dare to touch her or get together or anything. suyeon is definitely not ready for a boyfriend yet and i also don't want her to have one yet!" i scoffed at his request. sure, i thought, not to judge... but i already don't like her and just want to get this job done.
instead, i just nodded attentively before following wonwoo to the exit. "the staff here are really trustful and are also doing a great job. you can be glad. also, i was talking about getting you a car as well, but something happened beforehand, so you'll be provided with a motor cycle instead, i apologise."
"i'm fine with either of them, so don't worry." he threw the keys at me and just kept on walking without exchanging a further word with me.
somehow i could relate to him. i was very protective of yeji back then as well, it's just the big brother instinct. and just because i already don't like suyeon, i'll still make sure to treat her like every other human being.
"oh! there she is!", wonwoo happily exclaimed as we stepped outside. i looked around and finally spotted a girl on a bench, holding a few cups of coffee as she glanced around. when she spotted her brother next to me, she immediately got up and rushed towards us.
"wonwoo!" at least her voice wasn't as high as i thought.
i didn't mind her and mentally spaced out, until i felt something hot on my chest. blinking a few times, i saw one half empty cup and a shocked suyeon in front of me. looking down on myself, my white shirt was ruined.
"holy shit, i am so sorry.", she quickly apologised and got some tissues out of her bag to wipe the stain off. this can't be happening. i took a step back and forced a smile: "don't worry about it, i'll just buy a new shirt!"
this was my favourite one, you brat.
suyeon frowned at me: "wait, who are you?"
rude.
wonwoo laughed the situation off and swung his arm around my shoulder: "suyeonnie, since i'll be overseas for a longer time, my friend has agreed to watch over you while i'm gone. this is sunghoon, he lives right in the building next to us!"
suyeon didn't seem too satisfied with her brother's explanation and sighed: "how many times am i supposed to tell you? i'm twenty now, i'm pretty sure i can take care of myself already."
"it's dangerous since you're going to be on your own. your brother knows what he's doing, you shouldn't doubt him.", i kindly reassured her and showed her a thumbs up. suyeon wasn't having anything of this and raised an eyebrow: "rude. who are you to barge into another family's business?"
"it's also rude to spill coffee on my favourite shirt!", i growled back. we gave each other a death stare before looking at a panicking wonwoo. "you two should get along with each other! i guess it'll take some time, huh? no worries, i'll be gone by tomorrow." he chuckled and ruffled my hair.
in the end, i was able to change my clothes and join the siblings for lunch. wonwoo was kind enough to invite us to a restaurant and make sure suyeon and i could get to know each other. too bad she was completely ignoring me when i asked her a question, how rude can a person even be?
in the afternoon, this girl even met up with her friends and left wonwoo alone with me.
so now, it was the two of us on the balcony while smoking our cigars. "wonwoo, serious question. don't you think your sister's really bold and rude? don't worry, i'm sure we won't fall in love. i'd like the complete opposite of her as my girlfriend." even though i knew there wasn't even time for a partner.
"usually, she's not like this. trust me, she has the kindest heart known to humanity. suyeon likes to donate to organisations for kids, she loves volunteer work and also adores animals! maybe she doesn't like you because i suddenly introduced you to her? but as far as i know, suyeon is pretty good at socialising. maybe you could ask her why she despises you so much?"
i chuckled. today was such an unfortunate first meeting, i can't believe i'll be stuck with this brat now.