See?

SEE?!

This.

This is exactly why I refuse to go with them.

Other students kept training their eyes on us like they hadn’t seen two identical-looking people before.

Keep eyes ahead, kids! Twins are everywhere. Mine aren’t for sale. Though I’d give anything to have even just one Jo twins-free day.

“Morning, Youngmin!”

“Morning!”

“Morning, Kwangmin!”

“Morning.”

“Morning, Youngmin!”

“Morning!”

“Morning, Kwangmin!”

“Morning.”

“Morning, Youngmin!”

“Morning!”

“Morning, Kwangmin!”

“Morning.”

“Morning, Young—”

“ARRGH!!”

I just couldn’t take it anymore that I yelled in aggravation. Having twin brothers who were ridiculously popular at school had made me pretty much non-existent to other students. The best title I could get was Youngmin and Kwangmin’s sister.

The worst?

Lo and behold: That filthy peasant who faithfully cleans the floor to prepare the way for Prince Youngmin and Prince Kwangmin.

I was a hundred percent sure that the only people who knew me by name were my best friend, teachers, and classmates. The day I would hear “Morning, Hyeomin” from other students would be the day I become the first lady in Southeast Korea.

“You okay?” asked Kwangmin worriedly.

I harrumphed.

Traitor had no right to speak.

“If you’ll excuse,” I spoke to my breath, too annoyed to look at their faces, “I need to get to my class now. Stay a good ten feet away from me or else.”

“No way, Hyeomin,” Youngmin declined, quickly fastening his arm around my shoulder before I even had the chance to step away. “We’ll walk you safely to your class.”

“The heck!” I tried to wriggle free from his death lock. “I’m not a five year old! I can walk to my class alone!”

“What if someone has sent a sniper to sneak in our school and shoot you in place?” His eyes went wide as he said it to me.

I bared my teeth at him. “If that was your attempt at joking, I’m not amused at all.”

He let out a chuckle. “Hyeomin baby, you should be proud. Anybody would kill just to stand between your incredibly hot brothers.”

“Yeah? I would kill to see you two eaten alive by giant gummy worms.”

“If that was your genius attempt to joke, I’m beyond amused.”

And true to his words, he burst into laughter right after that. His twin followed by chuckling lightly.

I turned to a group of students who enjoyed watching our soap drama this morning. “You. Yes, you! Do you have a spade? No? A coffin? The Invisible Cloak? Superman’s red underwear? Why don’t you have any?? What kinda students are you?!”

“Hyeomin, you’re seriously scaring the life out of them,” reprimanded Kwangmin as he pulled me back before I jumped and clawed at them.

I resisted chomping on his beautiful hands that were resting on my shoulders. “This should’ve been taken into your wise consideration before taking me to school together with you.”

“I’d forever choose that over her going berserk because we didn’t wake her up,” Youngmin muttered under his breath. He made it like look like it was meant only for Kwangmin to hear when, really, he did it purposely to annoy me.

“Youngmiiiiiiiiiiiiiin!!!!!” I screeched furiously.

“Come on, Hyeomin,” Kwangmin started again, softer and sincere this time. “It’s only about twice a week. Don’t let us down, please.”

I hate having a mischievous brother.

And his twin who’s beyond expert in persuading people.

∞

“Hyeoooo~min.”

“Hrm.”

“Let’s get rid of that ugly face of yours before more people turn into stone, shall we~” she sang as her finger continuously poked my cheek.

“Hrrrm.”

“Look!” She shook my shoulders violently. “Marshmallow rain!”

“Hrrrrrm.”

“HRRRRRRRRM!”

“The heck, Jiyeon?” I snapped after she harrumphed loudly in my ear.

“I’m boooooooored!” she whined. Her lower lip jutted out in the cutest way possible. “This harrumphing thing isn’t fun at all.”

“I’m in no mood for fun.”

“Gasp!”

I gave her a weird look. “You didn’t just state your gasping into the actual word.”

“I’m pretty sure I did,” she replied flatly, blinking at me with innocent eyes.

“God, I hate today,” I groaned into the palms of my hands. “And every single day those evil twins decide to take me to go to school together.”

“Why?” Jiyeon was flabbergasted. “Your brothers are fun, sophisticated, sociable, popular, and verrrrrrrry good-looking. They’re practically the best brothers you could ask for. You should be proud.”

I grunted when her last sentence automatically echoed in my head, overlapping with the one that Youngmin had said earlier.

You should be proud.

You should be proud.

You should be proud.

You should be proud.

You should be proud.

You should be proud.

Next time someone says that ill-fated sentence in my face, I’d be burying ‘em six feet under.

“I think I just zoned out cause I sure as gummy bears didn’t hear you mention annoying, hazardous, pain in the , and twins to describe their whole being.”

“That’s clearly because I never mentioned them.”

I looked up to the sky, silently grieving over my cursed life.

And also over people who were obviously too biased to see their real wicked characters.

And when I said people, my best friend was soooooo included.

“Come on, Hyeo baby,” she coerced. “You’re too harsh to your own brothers. They hardly did anything wrong. They couldn’t even step on an ant, for my y ’s sake! Bless their pure souls~”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Mind if I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

“As my bestestestestestestest friend who has known me since we attended this school six months ago, why, in the name of yummy YunJae, do you always take my brothers’ side? You only met them last month when my mom decided to invite the first and only friend I’ve ever had since the day I was born for dinner! I should be winning your loyalty over by five months! Five freaking months!” I threw my hands to the air, frustrated.

“Uh. We’ve attended the school for about eight months now. Just thought I’d let you know.”

“The better! SEVEN freaking MONTHS!” I roared at her face, making her wincing back on impulse.

“You’re just over thinking, Hyeo baby. Never doubt the loyalty of—you said and I quote—my bestestestestestestest friend who has known me since we attended this school six months ago.”

“Didn’t you just tell me that it’s been eight months now?”

“I quote, okay! I quote!”

“Tch. Some people just can’t take a joke.”

“………….. Kiss our seven-month friendship goodbye. I’ll take my leave now.”

“Joking! I was just joking! Dude, you really can’t take a joke!” I frantically pulled her to sit back down.

She shook her head. “No, I was just joking. Dude, you’re the one who can’t take a joke.”

“Dude!” I slapped her arm in annoyance.

“Dude, that hurt!” She slapped me back.

“No kidding, dude!”

“Will you stop slapping me, dude?”

“Not until you stop calling me dude!”

“Dude, you started it!”

“Okay, that’s it. 4-4. We’re even now. No more du—” I cleared my throat before my tongue had the chance to start the sequel of dude-slapping war. “Just be honest, Jiyeon. Do you happen to have hots for my brother?”

“Du—odenum!” she blurted. Nice save. “What kinda best friend would ask her best friend if she has hots for her brothers?

“Omigodyouhavehotsforbothofthem?!”

“No! God. Are you high?”

“Not that I know of.” I shrugged. “Now speak the truth, woman, before I condemn you with the unimaginable.”

“Yeah? Like what? ” she mocked. “Braiding my hair when I’m sleeping?”

Oh no, she didn’t.

I quickly averted my gaze to the soccer field. After sweeping the area for a couple of seconds, my eyes finally zeroed in on two very familiar figures who were busy passing the ball back and forth while avoiding members from the opposite team. They looked …… disgustingly beautiful under the sun. Eww.

I in a very long breath before yelling at the top of my lung, “YOUNGKWANG! Yo! Here! Your non-existent sister here and her utterly and completely beautiful best friend need to—oofh!”

“I get it! I get it!” Jiyeon shrieked in panic while clamping my mouth shut as tight as possible with her hand and turned us around so only our backs were facing the field now. “Fine! You want the truth? Here’s the truth!”

Five minutes had passed and my mouth was still clamped.

“Guh-ross!” Jiyeon let go of my mouth in an instance after I her palm.

“I should be the one saying that—your hand tasted like chicken’s dung.”

Her face contorted in disgust. “I’m surprised I don’t doubt your knowing the taste of chicken’s dung at all.”

“That was metaphorical.”

“That I doubt.”

“YOUNGKWA—oofh!”

“I told you I’ll tell the truth!”

I pried her hand from my mouth. “That’s what you said in approximately six minutes ago. If you don’t start telling the truth in fifteen seconds, we’ll switch lives—me to be Kim Jiyeon and you Jo Hyeomin.”

“……… You sure that was supposed to be a threat? Any girl would happily switch lives with you in a heartbeat.”

“What? You’re not included?”

“Du—odecimal! If switching lives with you includes switching butts then no. Why would I wanna switch my y with that non-existent rump of yours?”

“YOUNGKWA—oofh!”

“One of these days, I’ll duct tape your mouth for good. Just you see,” she worded her own version of threat before releasing my mouth for the third time in ten minutes.

“Oooh, I’m scared~” I faked my fear before settling back with a blank expression. “Time’s up, now spill.”

She scowled but dropped the bomb nonetheless.

“Remember the day you skipped school for the first time—the same day I fainted in the middle of cafeteria on lunch period?” she started.

“How could I forget? Happened two days ago, right?”

“Nooo. That was Minbo falling asleep on his lunch tray.”

“Don’t tell! I remember! It was three days ago!”

“That was Eunjoo running into the flagpole.”

“Uh, a week ago?”

“Not Minbo’s booger missile that was accidentally on purpose launched in the middle of Art’s class, Hyeo baby.”

“Two weeks ago?”

“I know that deep, deep, deep, deep, deep down in your subconscious mind you still feel bad about burning Mrs. Yoon’s hair with that explosive liquid you found in Chem lab, Hyeomin, but really—it wasn’t that.”

“Three weeks ago?”

“Why, of all interesting events happening in our school, are you obsessed with the ones created by Minbo?”

“That’s it! Yesterday! It was yesterday, was it?”

“Oh, for the love of Minb—wait. Yesterday? What happened yesterday that I didn’t know of but you did?” she inquired with new curiosity.

I shrugged. “I was just guessing.”

She gritted her teeth in aggravation. “Twenty days ago. It was twenty days ago when I fainted in the middle of lunch period.”

“See, I was close! Just throw in one day and it’ll be three weeks.” I stuck my nose up, proud of my intelligence in playing twenty questions with her. “Why would you even faint in the middle of lunch period? It was supposed to be heaven, what with all the lip-smackingest food—”

“Focus!” Jiyeon snapped at me. “And lip-smackingest is definitely not a word. The red, wavy line will appear under the smackingest if you type it on Word. The same goes to bestestestestestestest. No wonder you’re flunking in Engli—”

“Focus, Jiyeon!” I gave her the most stinging eyes I could create.

“Right.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “So it was lunch period and I was so hungry I did a marathon to the cafeteria right after the bell rang. I got in line and when I was finally face-to-face with the most lip-smacking food ever existed on earth, I was hit on the head and knocked out right there and then. When I finally woke up, I was already in the infirmary. Minbo said some students were playing with a basket ball inside the cafeteria and accidentally threw it at my direction. I had this HUUUUGE bump at the back of my head I was surprised I didn’t get a major concussion.”

“Wow.” I breathed in awe. “See, Minbo is proven to be playing a lot in our school history. He’s the second most important person after the school founder! Do not underestimate the awesomeness and mightiness of Minbo!”

“You got a piece of chili stuck in between your incisors,” Jiyeon said calmly.

I puffed my cheeks infuriately. “I will not question what incisors are because you clearly ignored my statement of truth earlier on purpose.”

“Just don’t come crying to me when people laugh at your face because of that horrid placement of thing that’s not supposed to be there when you haven’t even had your lunch period. God, you didn’t even brush your teeth this morning, did you?”

I hurriedly ran the pointy nail of my forefinger through every gap between my teeth.

“So what does Minbo being your hero have to do with those evil twins I call brothers?” I asked right after I did the deed.

Jiyeon let out a long sigh. “Minbo was there but he wasn’t the one who helped me. It was another guy. I still have his jacket which he seemed to forget to take back after bringing me to the infirmary.”

“And?”

“And it belongs to one of your brothers.”

“And that one of my brothers is?”

She giggled shyly before giving me a timid answer. “Kwangmin.”

“I was ready to flip all the tables in the cafeteria if you were to say Youngmin, but hey—how can you be so sure it was Kwangmin?”

“Minbo said so,” she replied casually. “You said and I quote, do not underestimate the awesomeness and mightiness of Minbo. There.”

I tittered in a maniacal way while thumping her back violently until her face was turning blue. “I’m glad you finally acknowledge him, son.”

“I’m a girl,” Jiyeon grumbled.  “That would make me a daughter, not son.”

I frowned. “I don’t wanna have you as daughter.”

She glared. “Who says I wanna have you as mom?”

“Fine. So what do you wanna do now?”

“Admiring him from the distance?”

“Du—umvirate! Why the distance when you could just examine his every pore and every drip of snot from up close?”

Her eyebrows were scrunched up in confusion. “What’s duum…virate?”

“Ha! Not telling you! That’s what you get from not telling me what incisors are!”

“I would tell if you asked. But you said and I quote, I will not question what incisors are because you clearly ignored my statement of truth earlier on purpose,” she countered. “So not my fault.”

I harrumphed.

“I was going to help you in pursuing my brother but I changed my mind,” I uttered curtly.

“Thank God, I’m saved from the unimaginable,” she murmured under her breath.

“On second thought, I’m sooooooooooo forcing you to pursue my brother. YOUNGKWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—ack! …………… DUUUUUUDE!”

∞

Music Box:  I Like You – Infinite

Don’t press charges on me!

It’s only been 171 days since the last I updated.

Yes, I counted because I’m cool like that.

…………

I hate counting.

*sniff*

Gosh, I almost forgot how fun it is to write stories from your untamable imagination. Even if I still don’t get any comment below, I will keep writing. Nothing—I repeat, NOTHING can stop me from writing.

Unless Kai asked me to.

LOL. JK.

Expect another update in approximately 170 days.