“You know you can sleep over here too, right?” Yoona asked Eun dryly as she pointed down at the cat bed she had splurged so generously on. “I'm sure this is way more comfortable than what you're on.”

Eun purred in satisfaction as she stretched her limbs, clearly having chosen her designated spot on the window sill.

Two days prior to this show of laziness, the cat had proved her worth when she attacked a ghost in the kitchen while Yoona had been busy trying to figure out how to microwave her soup without causing an explosion.

Before Yoona's scream could leave , Eun had launched off the countertop with a kitty war cry and stuck her claws right into the flabbergasted ghost's broken neck. With an anguished cry, the ghost quickly disappeared with a sizzle of blue energy.

Yoona had slept easier that night.

Today had been a wonderful Jungkook-free day. Yugyeom had asked her to sit on the bleachers, well away from his group of hormone driven friends, and watch him practice football with his teammates. While he changed in the locker room, she took the time to timidly explore sections of the empty school. Afterwards, she insisted on buying him ice-cream. The only reason they had come home was because Yugyeom had plans with a friend, and had suspiciously asked her to stay home for the night. She suspected a girlfriend.

As Yoona waited for the video call to connect, she silently prayed that the receiving end wouldn't pick up.

And just like clockwork,her mother's face and the dreary blue wallpaper in the background instantly filled the screen. “Hello,” Jeong-hui chirped.

Yoona twisted in her seat, visibly uncomfortable. It wasn't like she hated her mother, it was just that she preferred to use the words... strong distaste.

“I got a shelter cat. Her name is Eun.” She didn't want to drag out this conversation any longer than it had to.

“That would be the first thing you say to me,” her mother sighed and shook her head. “Have you unpacked everything? Separated the clothes according to colour? What about your shoes? I hope Daejung was sensible enough to get a shoe rack.”

“Yeah, I'm sharing a rack with Yugyeom's sneakers.” Yoona cleared and flickered her eyes to the polaroid of her brother stuck on the mirror. “How are my babies doing?”

“Enough with the damn cats!” Jeong-hui snapped and slammed a palm on the table top, momentarily shaking the video. Reaching over to steady the laptop, she sighed heavily and kneaded at her temples in agitation. “They're fine. Everything is fine. It's just... it's just a little empty here without you.”

Yoona knew it wasn't. It really wasn't, but her mother couldn't see that.

“This is for the best,” Yoona cajoled gently. “There are more people my age here, and I have Yugyeom with me. It's better for me. I think I'll get better here.”

Jeong-hui's smile was brittle as she nodded firmly. “Knowing that doesn't mean I don't miss you.”

Like a call from the heavens above, Yugyeom banged on the door and yelled about needing help with dinner. Flashing her mother a brief smile in apology, Yoona jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “Sorry, I have to go downstairs and help your son.”

The older woman's face pinched in disapproval as her hand twitched, as if the urge to reach out and yank Yoona from across the screen was overwhelming. “It's barely been a minute! Is it really that painful for you to talk to me?”

Don't give in. Poker face. Poker face.

“I don't know why you're always so ungrateful,” Jeong-hui muttered as she crossed her arms and fixed Yoona with a stern expression. “All we did was try to help you and bring the best in you.”

“We?” Yoona repeated dully, not quite on board with the idea of her step-father having an ounce of affection left in him to actually bring anything out of her.

“Yeong-ho loves you.”

“He really doesn't,” Yoona sighed, now extremely bored and very much fed up with this conversation. It wasn't going anywhere and all she wanted to do was slam the laptop into a wall and trek downstairs for dinner.

A bright red flush coloured her mother's cheeks as she inhaled sharply at Yoona's tone. “Don't you dare!” Jeong-hui hissed as she held up a finger in warning. “Don't you dare pull that with me. We gave up everything to move for Seogwipo for you!”

By the end of her rant, her mother's volume had gotten loud enough to make Yoona feel more drained than she should have.

“I never bothered anyone,” Yoona sighed as she tucked her face into the crook of her arm. “You two decided to move because Yeong-ho lost his job, and that isn't my fault. Stop pinning the blame on me.”

Jeong-hui's jaw could have dropped to the floor if possible. After collecting herself, she narrowed her eyes and leaned closer to the camera. “You insufferable-“

The door slammed open to cut her off mid-sentence. Yoona didn't have the energy to lift her head off the table to see who it was, but she had a pretty good idea.

“Who are you?” Her mother's scandalised tone of voice was pretty much a giveaway. “Why are you in my daughter's room?”

Jungkook eyed the back of Yoona's head warily before giving Jeong-hui a blank stare. Typical that the wretched woman wouldn't remember him. He placed one hand on the back of Yoona's chair and leaned forward to log out of the video chat. God damn, he could hear this woman's screeching from down the hall!

Her mother slammed a palm on the table and looked very much affronted. “What are you doing you-“

“My name is Jungkook, and I was your neighbour before you so rudely decided to tear the twins apart,” Jungkook greeted with a grin. “And now, I'm going to sleep with your daughter. Maybe even your son if he's in a good mood tonight. Goodbye.”

“As if,” a snort sounded from Yoona.

At the very beginning of Jeong-hui's outraged scream, Jungkook cut the call and slammed the laptop shut. After a moments hesitation, he reached over to ruffle Yoona's hair and sighed. He would admit that eavesdropping on a private conversation wasn't right, but at the volume Jeong-hui was using, the entire neighbourhood could hear.

“Well now that that's over with,” Jungkook huffed. “Let's get going, kiddo.”

“Why are you here?” Yoona muffled groan reached his ears. “Don't you have a kitchen of your own to terrorize?”

“I've been having dinner here since before your man f