Word count: 1097 words. another short filler chapter.

The Qualm

“Good morning,” I greeted the rest of my family upon reaching the dining room. Everyone was already present in the dining room; they either had finished or were still in the middle of having breakfast. “You’re going somewhere after this?” my sister asked when she saw my getup. While I was not exactly a late-sleeper, I was also someone who prefers comfortable clothes instead of dressing up to our status. My choice of clothes was painstakingly different between at home and when I went out. “Yeah, I’m going to meet my supervisor and then work on my thesis somewhere else- I’m just going to be lazy if I stay at home,” I answered her and started on my breakfast.

“Seriously, you’re rarely home lately due to your internship, but when you do, you’re going out instead of spending time with us?” my mother sighed. Because of the weird curriculum my major decided on where the last semester consisted of both thesis and internship, I have been getting extremely busy. The university that I interned at, unfortunately, was outside of Seoul, so I rented an apartment near there instead of going back and forth to my family’s residence. It was true that I could have just drive my own car, but it was too tiring and I did not think it was appropriate to show up at the campus where I was an intern at with an Audi- I mean, I was only an intern.

“Yes, Eomma, I’m going out today,” I replied with an eyeroll. My mother was being sarcastic with me, by the way. My whole family knew how hectic my schedule was for the past two months since the new semester started, and it would stay that way until I had submitted the final draft of my thesis or finished my internship, which would be in another four months.

“By the way, Yeon, I heard that you’re going with Sehun?” it was my brother’s turn to ask. I looked up at him from my half-finished plate of the classic American breakfast with wide blinking eyes. “How do you know I’m going out with Sehun today? I don’t think I have mentioned any name,” I tilted my head to the side. At answer, the other members of my family blinked their eyes at me. “What?”

“We don’t know you’re going out with Sehun today,” my father commented. “Yeah, I was actually asking you about Samsung’s launching party next weekend,” my brother added. I could only let out an intelligent “Oh,” as I did not know what else to respond to that. And just in time, one of our houseworkers announced that my sister’s boyfriend had arrived. She went out to the foyer to greet him first.

“Uhm, yeah, I’m going to the party as Sehun’s plus one,” I answe