.nine

Mothers are the weirdest creatures sometimes. I had decided that during a weekend when my mom and I were sitting on a couch, lounging. She was watching a replay marathon of KNTM (Korea’s Next Top Model) while I was doing my homework, when suddenly, our conversation began like this:

Mom: Do you think if you had a boyfriend, he’d be cute like Luhan?

Me: Mom. Please.

Mom: Or maybe Luhan is your boyfriend, you know? I mean, he’s cute anyways.

Me: Mom. Stop.

Mom: Or Kyungsoo! He’s really squishy as hell! And he’s a good cook!

Me: Oh my god, mom! I swear if you don’t stop right now I’ll-

Mom: Baekhyun seems like a good choice, too! I mean, he’s sweet, he’s kind, he’s loyal, and-

“Oh please, we all know that she wants Suho hyung as her boyfriend.” My mother was cut off mid-sentence when another voice joins us.

Well, what do we have here? The devil’s little spawn actually crawled out of hell and became my obnoxious little brother. I give Minhyun the meanest glare I could muster, rolling my eyes as I, yet again, become a victim of his antics.

“ you.”

“Mind your language, young lady.”

“You should tell that to this monster right here!” I point accusingly at Minhyun.

He scowls at me. “Excuse you, woman, but I am not the one who wakes up at 7 in the freaking morning looking like the long lost sister of Sadako while mumbling curses about your ed up love life.” A smirk crawls in his face, “Oh wait, that’s you, isn’t it? If I remember correctly, I hear the names of Kim Joomyeon and Lu-”

I didn’t let them finish anymore as I made a random excuse of having to phone my classmates about the homework. Her voice was still echoing in the living room, hollering for my name, but I simply ignored it as I found comfort underneath my blanket sheets.

Speaking of dating, I haven’t had the chance to give Luhan a proper answer yet.

Wow, that sounded really haughty right now, but who am I to blame? It was the first time someone had asked me something like that. And to think it would be a cute guy...okay. I just felt really bad for him because we ended up cancelling tutor night due to his bloody nose and black-eye.

My mom had gone bat- crazy when I came home alone, demanding where the Luhan is with her high-pitched voice, and for a second there I thought he was more of her child than I was. I couldn’t blame her, though. Raising children like us would definitely take every bit of your patience not to turn insane.

XXX

It was all pretty evident that Mr. Choi did not like late students, judging from our past experiences as freshmen during his English class—whether you have a good excuse or not, being tardy is tardy so shut the up and just sit outside before the old man melts into a pool of disgusting, expired goo.

Unfortunately, Luhan was one of those students who experienced it first-hand today.

“I see you had a wonderful time during lunch, Mr. Lu,” Mr. Choi’s croaking voice echoes in the classroom. None of us had bothered to say anything, as we were too afraid we’d end up getting a punishment too. “Was your food delicious?”

Luhan, who seemed oblivious, simply blinked and shook his head. “It was disgusting, sir.”