Chapitre Huit

>Always be my one phone call<

MinNeul

“Mom’s not home for dinner again today.” MinNeul said while washing the plates with MinHyuk next to her, drying them with a piece of cloth. Her brother noticed the maids passing by the kitchen once in a while, and though they pretended to be busy and everything, MinHyuk knew that it was just them wondering if there was anything that they could do to help.

Ever since MinNeul was home from the States, the kitchen was all theirs, especially during dinner. They made their own dinner together almost every night despite the maids protests of doing it for them. The twins knew that they were scared of their mother, and YoonHe did mention a few times, of how she disliked the both of them to be in the kitchen doing the mundane job when she’d already paid someone else to do it.

But cooking together was one of the twin’s favorite things, and their mother had failed to see that. They enjoyed standing side by side cooking, chatting, and even washing up the plates. They bonded easily when they did things together.

“It’s nothing unusual.” MinHyuk said, shooing the maids away as they attempted to help. “She was rarely home anyway when you were abroad. Nothing has changed ever since we were young.”

MinNeul’s heart went out to her brother, imagining how lonely it must’ve been for him while she was away. She tried picturing him coming home to an empty house, with no one but just the maids, and had dinner all by himself. MinHyuk didn’t like to eat out so much, and always preferred eating at home.

“I bet you hung out a lot with your girlfriend when I wasn’t around, didn’t you?” MinNeul teased, hoping to see a grin or something on MinHyuk’s face but surprisingly, she got nothing. His face was blank and only a forced smile was formed as he dried the last plate. She had never seen her twin looking like that before, and her heart dropped.

“Yeah, well, I didn’t get the chance to get to know her better, unfortunately.” So her brother did have a girlfriend when she was away. MinNeul’s eyes widened at that, as she didn’t have a single clue. Her brother never told her about it, and throughout their lives, they’d never kept secrets from each other. She was just teasing him earlier and didn’t expect it to be true.

“Wait, why didn’t you ever tell me that you had a girlfriend?” MinNeul asked, turning off the tap and faced her brother as she leaned on the counter. She wasn’t mad at him, but curious, more like.

MinHyuk sighed as he took his own time folding the cloth he was using, and wiped the tabletops even though it was clean. “I don’t think I could call her my girlfriend. I didn’t even have the chance to tell her that I liked her.”

It was quiet for a moment, and MinNeul’s hand slowly rose to . The worst-case scenario was now in her head, and she hoped that whatever had happened before was not what she had in mind. “MinHyuk ah, did she-”

“No, she’s not dead, little sister.” MinHyuk said with a small laugh, turning to look at her. “She’s alive and well, and, probably living her life happily right now.”

“What happened?” She asked, hoping deep down that MinHyuk would tell her. It wasn’t every day that she’d got to hear that MinHyuk was mingling around with people of the opposite gender. He had a few guy friends, fortunately for him, but he never had a female friend before.

MinHyuk lifted his shoulders, trying to appear nonchalant. “Well, it’s as you would’ve guessed. Mom found out and it turned out that she didn’t like that girl, just because her father is running a small flower shop and that her family is not up to our standard. Her standard, anyway.”

“Oh, MinHyuk.” MinNeul went forward and rubbed her brother’s arm. She knew nothing of this and she really felt for him. MinHyuk never had a girlfriend since high school, and she thought that it was amazing for him to have finally found someone, until their mother came into the picture.

“I ended it before we even had the chance to start. I really liked her, you know. I always saw her at her father’s flower shop each time I passed by. I thought mom would like her too, because she’s gentle, delicate, and really loves her family. Even if I had no reason to, I would pass by the shop every day, sometimes ‘spying’ on her, and see how she interacted with her dad and other people.” A sad smile formed on his lips. “I should’ve known better that mom cares more about her background instead of her personality.”

MinNeul stood up on her toes and circled her arms around MinHyuk’s neck, the only comfort that she could give. MinHyuk just laughed bitterly and hugged her back, telling her that it was a long time ago anyway. He didn’t tell her when she video-called because he didn’t want her to worry. He knew she would.

“I told you that we make a great team.” MinHyuk said, and MinNeul bit her lips to prevent herself from crying. Throughout her life, MinHyuk had always been her rock. She depended on him a lot, and there was nothing that he didn’t know or wouldn’t do when it came to her.

When she was sick, he stayed up to look after her. When she was sad, he’d do whatever it took to make her smile again. When she faced her first heartbreak due to a failed relationship, he was next to her night and day, and maybe that was why she got over JongIn so easily. Her brother always made things seem to be easier for her when something went wrong.

But no one was there to comfort MinHyuk when he decided not to see the girl again. Who hugged him throughout the night and assured him that it was going to be okay? Who made him hot chocolate as if it could take away the bitterness inside his heart for letting his chance to love someone slipped by? Who patted his back when he cried as he thought of his first love that he had to let go?

A sob escaped from MinNeul’s lips as she hugged her twin brother tighter. “I’m sorry for not being there for you, oppa. I should have. You’re always there for me for everything that has ever happened in my life.”

MinHyuk smiled. “It doesn’t matter, little sister. I told you, it was a long time ago. I’m just glad that I didn’t tell her before mom found out, or it would be the two us hurting in the end.”

“Did she like you too?” MinNeul couldn’t help but ask, and MinHyuk nodded his head confidently. “I guess she did. Her father used to tell me that she would always want to hide at the back when she saw me coming in the flower shop, but peeking through the window anyway.”

MinNeul laughed as she extricated herself from the hug. “I think she was scared of you for stalking her every day that she had to hide at the store room just to not see your face.” She teased, and MinHyuk snorted before pinching her nose, causing his sister to whine.

“I knew she liked me too.” He said after he let his sister go, grabbing a mug to pour in some water. All of this talking made his throat dry. “But luckily none of us told each other how we felt, because things would be harder then. I never wanted it to be hard for her.”

MinNeul watched his movements, taking the water bottle from the fridge and pour some water into his favorite mug. She wasn’t sure if she should ask, but she did anyway. “Did you ever regret letting her go without a fight?”

MinHyuk froze, rooted to the spot with his back facing her. MinNeul started to regret asking that question then, seeing how quiet MinHyuk was. She cursed herself for being so inconsiderate and should’ve just let that matter go. She was about to apologize when her twin turned, flashing her a smile.

“I did, and I still do. I regret giving up without a fight. I should’ve fought back, but I d