CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Wednesday was another day of surprises, starting the moment I woke up and walked out of my room. Usually, I was the first one up, the first one to go to the kitchen and prepare something for breakfast. I also greeted Taemin when he arrived from security work at the pub near here. I even double-checked my phone's clock to ensure I didn't oversleep. It wasn't the case.

From the sound of a pot falling and something being cut on the board, I assumed someone was making breakfast...or trashing the kitchen. As I slowly peeked at what was going on there, I could only describe it as a neutral mess. To begin with, the three of them – Sooyoung, Sehun, and Taeyong were wearing plastic bags over their heads. I could only imagine that strange accessory replaced the hairnet for cooking.

The table was occupied with cabbages, cucumbers, mustard leaves, mushrooms, bean sprouts, and other vegetables already cut and separated into bowls. Sehun was concentrating on slicing carrots. From the lack of speed and hesitation, it was clear that he didn't have much experience in the task. The amount of leftovers, potato skins, and scallion roots on the ground around him was also a great indication. I knew that if my cousin was doing that it meant he was the best among them. I didn't want to imagine what the other two in the kitchen would do with the poor vegetables.

Taeyong was with his back turned to the sink, I couldn't see what he was doing. At least it looked like his area was less cluttered than the table. Meanwhile, Sooyoung was in front of the stove with two pans under the heat and one next to it on the counter. I caught the exact moment she poured half a pot of kimchi into one of the pans on the fire. Maybe she was making kimchi stew with tofu, but I wasn't confident. I was not an expert in the kitchen, that title goes to my father.

“Noona, you woke up!” Taeyong was the first to notice me, making the other two look at me as well. He had turned towards the fridge.

With him unlocking the view of the sink, I finally got to see that he used the space to make kimbap. There were a few rolls ready just waiting to be cut, while one was in the middle of the process open on the bamboo mat.

“Are you guys making breakfast?” I asked trying to understand the other recipes they were making. Judging by the ingredients, it could be anything.

“Actually, we're making lunch,” Taeyong replied, grabbing sliced ​​cheese from the fridge and heading back to the sink.

Sooyoung came out from the stove carrying something in her hands and stopped in front of me, “Breakfast,” she said handing me two eggs that looked like they had just been boiled. "Don't eat too much now, you need room for later."

“I didn't know you could cook,” I said looking at the eggs.

“I can make anything I want. I am a genius, after all,” she said back in front of the stove.

“So, you burned the rice in an electric rice cooker on purpose?” Sehun declared mockingly pointing to the trash can next to him.

Now that he mentioned it, I smelled a faint burning smell in the kitchen. It didn't seem to be coming from where Sooyoung was and the rice cooker wasn't where it was supposed to be. In fact, the pan was nowhere in the kitchen.

“Accidents happen, Sehun! Tell me something I can't do,” She stopped stirring the broth in the pan and faced my cousin, challenging him.

"Swim!" Taeyong said excitedly. I guess this was a rare opportunity where him could speak out on his friend's faults. So, he continued, intending to make a list, “Fishing. Follow the car's GPS. Sing and play at the same time. Follow the protocol of any chemistry experiment.”

“You were also unable to learn the words 'I'm sorry' or 'it was my fault'. Let alone 'please',” It was Sehun who spoke this time.

“Yah! I said ‘One thing’! You didn't need to roast me in front of Joohyun-unnie,” she defended herself with a frown, pointing the spoon towards the two boys, drops of the spicy orange broth falling to the ground. She was bent on creating a mess on the floor just like Sehun.

"Is it some special occasion I don't remember?" I asked a little confused. I knew I wasn't fully awake yet, but I would remember if I had something important to do that day.

“A special guest is coming to lunch here,” Sooyoung replied with a smile on her face.

That was weird. Did they know someone in Seoul and not tell me? I mean, they knew Wendy, but they wouldn't invite her to our house for lunch. Especially a home-cooked meal. Unless rat poison was one of the ingredients. However, I doubt Sooyoung would waste food like that.

Who else? My mom? Did Sehun mention to his mom that we were in Seoul and his mom talked to mine? Maybe that's why they didn't tell me about this lunch before. There were still a few hours left, there was time to escape.

"Relax! It’s not your mother,” Sooyoung reassured me, she probably saw the panic on my face. “You’ll know it when you see it,” I sighed in relief.

Looking at the eggs one more time, I decided to leave them on the table. I wasn't hungry and I still needed to do my beauty routine in the bathroom. Also, if I stayed in the kitchen longer than necessary, I was sure I'd end up helping out in some way. Honestly, I didn't feel like being helpful at this time of the morning. So, I used the opportunity to curl up in the bathroom longer than necessary and head back to my room, ignoring whatever was going on in the kitchen.

Later I decided to stay on the sofa in the living room with my eyes glued to my cell phone. I wanted to research more about copyright in the music industry. The more details I knew, the better it would be for future negotiations with Wendy. At some point, she would end up including lawyers at the table and I didn't want to look stupid by not understanding what they were saying. I wouldn't do it alone; Sehun would have to accompany me and he would be the first in the band to talk to Wendy. But that wouldn't be at our next meeting. I didn't even know when our next meeting would be, to be honest.

Speaking of Sehun, he appeared beside me handing me a bowl of rice and the two shelled eggs rolling inside the plate. I thanked him for his kindness, sitting on the floor to receive my breakfast that I ended up neglecting without realizing it. To my surprise, he didn't come back to the kitchen and chose to sit next to me on the floor. That was weird.

The two of us grew closer during the trip, but not to the point of deliberately keeping each other company. Watching me eat while he was silent was not something the two of us did. I couldn't remember the last time we were alone. In fact, I don't think we've ever talked alone before.

“You and Sooyoung have a thing, right?” Sehun waited for me to put the last spoonful of rice in my mouth to ask me that. Needless to say, I choked and he had to pat my back to help.

"A thing?" I ask after I manage to get my food down and regain my dignity.

“You guys do things when you're alone,” he elaborated some more and I pretended not to know what he meant. Sehun, however, knew that I already understood what he was saying, “Noona, I didn't mean to be rude by saying that you two are ing each other.”

“Yah! Don't be disgusting! And I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Everyone has noticed, noona. You do not need to be ashamed."

I snorted. I'm sure my face was starting to get red; I could feel my neck getting hot. Talking about my life with my cousin wasn't something I ever imagined doing. Never! The fact that he had a past w