After a remarkable day spent in school, Kyungsoo found himself in the town's main supermarket, a grand warehouse like building with banners and signs demonstrating sales and deals. Still in his uniform and his backpack on his back, with now a phone, he perused the chilly vegetable section of the shop, pondering on the prices and the menu for today.

“Hmm...” he hummed, fingers rubbing his chin as he eyed the prices of the green vegetables, “I could either make vegetable broth, a paste, soup, or stew – either way, it'll have to be vegetables only, we're only on the second week of the month and with Mrs. Li's coupons, at the end of the month, we could treat ourselves...so...if we're patient now...”

It seemed like a long session of mind-numbing, brain-crushing exercise in both will and numerics, but Kyungsoo finally filled his shopping basket with greens and the rest. As he eyed the queue from the end of the aisle, he pondered on whether his sisters or the house needed anything before he joined the waiting line.

“We have detergent...dish washing soap, bleach...do we have - ”

“Oh, well, hello there!” saluted a fiery, haughty-sounding, female voice near the thinking student.

Kyungsoo turned to the direction of the voice, and the boy's seemingly calmed face stretched into a struggling smile, barely able to bare his teeth at the woman, “Good afternoon, Mrs. Li.”

“Hi, dear, out shopping?”

“Yes, my sisters are quite busy today, so it is my turn to shop and make dinner.”

“So hard-working!” the woman exalted, grinning, “are you using the gifts I gave to your sister?”

“Not yet, Mrs. Li, I'm planning to save them for next week.”

“Your sister Sooyeon did a wonderful alteration to my foreign designer dress, and whilst I waited for the alteration,” her define, thick brows suddenly furrowed and her bright expression darkened for a second, to utter a detail that she found intolerable “a while, mind you,” Kyungsoo maintained his smile, trying his hardest grasp at patience due to woman's lack of empathy at her sister's great effort to perfect the task she had been given. The woman, with a tweaked brow carried on and mouing lips continued, “Father Choi reminded me to do charitable work for the community and I thought of you three siblings.”

“Considerate, are we...” Kyungsoo felt his innards discolour at the attempt to praise the woman's kindness as well as inability to empathise with the impact of her words, “You are so awful – ly kind, Mrs. Li,” He bowed ever slightly at the woman “thank you for thinking of us.”

“You are most certainly welcome – ah – son, come here!” Mrs. Li beckoned a person behind Kyungsoo. A statuesque, virile looking blond young man approached the two of them. The blond boy nodded to Kyungsoo, “Kyungsoo, you must've heard my son's achievement today.”

“Yes...” he nodded slowly to the woman. He turned to Yifan and smiled “Congratulations, Yifan, for attaining first place, yet again.”

“Th – thank you, Kyungsoo.” Yifan offered a small bow, unsure of how to return the gesture.

“If you're struggling with school, Kyungsoo, you can ask my son, anytime, I'm sure he'd be able to even teach you the basics.”

“Right...the basics...” Kyungsoo mirrored the woman's words through feigned-grinning gritted teeth.

“Uh, Mother,” the blond boy, noting Kyungsoo's boiling patience, plead to his mother “we should go, we shall be late for the Church's meeting.”

“Ah, right. Ah...” she sighed dramatically, “being a important member of the community keeps you busy all the time, how I wish I could have schedule such as yours.”

“Of course, Mrs. Li,” Kyungsoo agreed pedantically, and in a monotone voice. Mother and son excused themselves and he uttered, very roughly, with a weak wave “goodbye...” As soon as he saw the pair disappear at an aisle, he made a gag gesture to himself, “Ugh...good-for-nothing boasters.”

An empty house, a blaring radio blasting the latest hits, and the solitude of the kitchen to do his task was the perfect combination for Kyungsoo to wind down after the day's event – an awkward conversation with Kim Jongin, a forced phone passed onto him, an encounter with the grand Mrs. Li, the smell of earthy vegetables, boiling with the mixture for soup, was brining moistness to his mouth in anticipation. He thanked the stars that rice was cheap in their small town. He eyed the clock in the dining room and reckoned that his sisters would come home soon. Wishing to be prepared, he began to take out the bowls and cutleries from the upper cupboards and the drawers.

He set the table accordingly; A bowl, spoon and a table napkin for Sooyeon at the head of the table, Soojung to her left and himself to the right. It wasn't a catalogue inspired setting – their old oak table set, a grimy cloth set upon it, the chandelier hanging above with most of its light out, but it was cosy, and it was home, and that's all he needed; why want for more?

With a big ornate bowl containing a aromatic, steaming vegetable soup set at the centre of the table, Kyungsoo eagerly waited the arrival of his sisters. He sat in the living room, news flashing on the TV. Whilst he usually mellowed into sleep at the sound of the newscaster's voice, something seemed to caught his attention.

“Our correspondents in China have informed us of breaking news – a bombing has occurred in Xinjiang, factories targeted by a terrorist group. Casualties are estimated to range fr