Cold Warmth

After dinner, Jieun quietly excused herself to her room. She was thinking about Myungsoo. no matter how much she thought about it, this was such a strange coincidence. she had never believed in fate, but she wondered if this was what her father meant when he always babbled on about faith and coincidences. She thought of the family portrait she had seen in the West Corridor the other day, the large portrait of the four family members.

Everybody was smiling except for Myungsoo.

She glanced at her wrist and saw that her bruise was getting worser by the minute. She was afraid that she would bump into Myungsoo somewhere in the house, but she wasn't going to abandon her pain just for him. She had nothing to be ashamed of, she didn't know why she felt the need to avoid this person. She looked around and crept out of her room. the east corridor was lucid as usual, with faded rock music flowing out of Chanyeol's room. 

  She clutched her wrist to try and lessen the pain, which did not help at all. She roamed around the atrium, looking for the room which contained all the plasters and the medications. She had used up all of her own plasters, and it would have to be a few weeks for her to receive her pay from her part time working. She glanced into the north corridor which seemed not too different from the east corridor, except it was much smaller. 

 She was able to find the closet filled with medical kits easily, because each door was labelled with living necessities. the room was large, although it would have to be considered small compared to the other bedrooms in the house. she left the door open and looked around the room that was filled with numerous cupboards and shelves all occupied with their own types of medications and aid kits. 

 "There," she whispered as she looked to the top of the cupboard. there rested a large roll of white plaster. the problem was, she was too short for it. she dragged a mahogony chair from the corner and placed it infront of the cupboard, standing on the top of it. She held onto the railings of the cupboard with her right hand and with the other, reached for the plaster. the chair began to wobble, seieng that it was an old worn out chair that was there since Mr.Kim was her age. 

 Before she could scream for help, the leg split in half and Jieun plunged off the cupboard and hit the floor, with her bruised wrist gripping the floor directly. Jieun was left strewn on the floor, groaning as she clutched her wrist in pain. she barely managed to haul herself up and leaned against the cupboard, looking at her wrist which was now bloody and scars embedding it. 

"Dad.." 

She sniffled. she wiped the single tear off her cheek and tried not to cry, but it was so hard. She looked down and concealed her tears behind her bangs, so that nobody would see her cry. not that anybody would care, but she still hated to show the weak side to the world. She heard footsteps rising into the north corridor, the sound halting right before the medication room. She peeked up to see Myungsoo staring into the room, then at her. 

 He glanced at the broken chair and once more at her, then continued his way. 

She cleared in embarrassment and wiped the tear off her. she hauled herself up and limped out of the room with her wrist hidden under her clothes. She reached the door and held onto the rims. She peeked out and saw that Myungsoo had come back and pulled her inside the room. She was surprised and intidimated, yet in another sense relieved. In his hand was a first aid kit, a different one from the one in the medication room. 

 He opened the smaller cupboard and pulled out a chair for Jieun to sit on. She took a seat and watched him as he knelt with one knee and opened the first aid kit, taking out a mini sized plaster and a bunch of ointments. silently, he pulled her bruised wrist abruptly and squeezed the ointment on her wrist. Jieun hissed at the pain but bit her lips everytime Myungsoo glared at her. 

 He unravelled the plaster from the roll and wrapped it slowly around her bruised wrist, until the purple mess was completely covered up and safe. He packed up all the equipment and packed it back into the first aid kit and stood up. He stared at her as she looked down at the floor, trying to hide her tears behind her bangs. She wiped the tears off with her hand and rose from the seat, smiling vibrantly.

 "Thank you for helping me.. again." She bowed down ninety degrees.

He only nodded, no words. "One thing," he finally spoke. she looked up to his handsome face, only for her heart to get a pleasant surprise. her heart was beating quite fast and she felt content as she stared into his face. He slipped out a small handkerchief from his pocket and passed it to her. "You'll need it." he glanced at her tear sullen face and grinned lightly, walking out of the room. 

 She stared at the handkerchief and smiled shyly.

K.M.S

She felt the initials sewen onto the handkerchief in orange, feeling it's cold warmth.

---

  The next day was a saturday, meaning that Jieun had to spend her weekend running part time jobs. It was the least she could do until she could be fully employed. She got dressed in her simple working attire and glanced at the clock. it was seven in the morning, and the whole family seemed to be asleep except for Mr.Kim, who had left early for company matters. She hardly saw Mr.Kim except for in the evening, and she assumed that she would see him more often now that Myungsoo was back home.

 She slipped the handkerchief into her backpack and slowly crept through the east corridor, trying not to wake up anyone along her way. she crept downstairs and to her surprise, the entire family was already up and running. the housekeeper was cooking an Italian breakfast and was busy serving it to the two sons who were seated further away from each other. The smell of bread rolls wrapped in freshly cooked bacon travelled through her nose and growled her stomach.

 Everyone stared at the large grown sound, watching Jieun who looked as if she was about to run away from home. Myungsoo glanced at her and diverted his eyes back to his food, nibbling on the bacon, taking a sip of his espresso coffee. Chanyeol sniggered at her growl and sipped the espresso, burning his tongue. "Miss Jieun, are you going somewhere so early in the morning?" the housekeeper asked politely.

"Yes.. i have..appointments.." she laughed half heartedly, her eyes fixed on Myungsoo.

"You should eat some breakfast before you go, you seemed very... hungry." she chuckled as she laid down a plate for Jieun to eat. she nodded and carefully crept toward the dining table, trying not to disturb Myungsoo's eating routine. She watched him as he closed his eyes, tasting each of the food with appreciation. Jieun sat infront of her plate and noticed something strange.

 Chanyeol and Myungsoo were sitting so far away from each other.

"Where are you going so early in the morning?" Chanyeol asked as he stuffed a large bread roll into his mouth and chewed quietly. Jieun was very conscious of Myungsoo and every movement he made put her on the edge of her seat. "I have to work." she replied unwillingly, putting tiny bits of food into . In truth, she was starving but she didn't want to eat like a pig infront of Myungsoo.

 Jieun felt awkward. she was right in the middle of the two brothers who were not even looking at each other. from that picture she saw in Myungsoo's room of Chanyeol and Myungsoo, they looked so brotherly and friendly - perhaps that was just a mask. She glanced at Myungsoo, then at Chanyeol who was glaring at his brother with resentment. Chanyeol dumped his fork onto his plate and rose from his seat, dragging his chair back.

 "Why Chanyeol, you're already full?" the housekeeper asked as she stared at his half full plate.

"I'd rather eat alone." Chanyeol said sarcastically as he stomped upstairs. Jieun exchanged confused glances with the housekeeper who was just as confused. Myungsoo sighed and clenched the fork in his hand. "I'm not hungry either." Myungsoo brought the plate and dumped it into the sink, making his way upstairs. "What just.. happened?" Jieun asked the housekeeper, completely clueless as she stared down at her Italian breakfast.

 The housekeeper sighed as she sat infront of Jieun with a coffee mug in her hands. "They haven't been on good terms with each other for a while.. that's all i know, the rest is hidden between those two." she sipped her coffee lightly. Jieun stared upstairs. what was going on between the two?

 She received a call saying that her part time work was cancelled and she didn't have to come until two in the afternoon. She walked upstairs, sitting on the couch laid in the atrium. She missed her father terribly, and she felt bad for enjoying such good luxury while her father was in the unknowns, running from loan sharks. she rested her chin on the cushion and stared into space, lost in thoughts.

"What happened to your part time job? got fired?" Chanyeol sniggered as he found her sitting in the atrium. "You're the first person who ever sat there." he said casually with his hands buried inside his pocket. She stared at Chanyeol, he had distinct good looking features- it was just hidden under his messy baseball attire and his muddy hair. his tall height and long legs complimented whatever he wore, and he looked extremely good in his stripy red and white shirt with his denim jeans. 

"You should dress like that more often." She said, staring at him.

"Oh since when were you the fashion director?" he said sarcastically as he joined her on the couch, switching on the television that was attached to the wall. 

"Why am i the first person to sit here?" Jieun asked curiously. "It's just a normal couch. it's not like it carries a curse or anything, you know.." she shrugged, watching the korean drama that Chanyeol was watching.

 "Nobody ever chills in the atrium. " 

"Why?"

"You could say.. the Atrium is what separates the East from the West, you know? When you don't belong in the West, you must go to the east." Chanyeol murmured as he stared at the TV screen blankly. Jieun stared at the North corridor, startled as Myungsoo walked out of there. Myungsoo looked fed up. he ruffled his hair and stood infront of the television screen, blocking Chanyeol's view. 

 Chanyeol switched the television off and escaped the atrium with an apprehensive face. 

"Park Chanyeol." Myungsoo called sternly. Chanyeol ignored, walking toward his room. 

"PARK CHANYEOL!" Myungsoo screamed. Chanyeol halted, spinning and meeting his brother's face indifferently. with his hands still buried in his pocket, he walked sauntered over to Myungsoo arrogantly and stared into his face impudently. 

"You went into my room again, didn't you?" Myungsoo asked, extremely ticked off. Chanyeol scoffed and rolled his eyes at the question. "Why would i go into your dirty room for?" he laughed in mockery as he looked down at his brother. Jieun watched intently from the side. She had never thought that Myungsoo could get angry because he always looked so composed and calm.

  "If it wasn't you, who would swap the order of my cameras, huh?!" Myungsoo pushed Chanyeol by the chest. Chanyeol thought for a second and glared at Jieun, who bit her lips in guilt. 

"It was m-" "Fine, so i did. So what?" Chanyeol disrupted Jieun and pushed Myungsoo back. "The order?" he scoffed. "I'm sorry, did i shift it one centimeter apart?" Chanyeol blinked twice, talking right into his face. 

"Before i lose my temper you'd bette-"

"What? what more are you going to take away from me?"

Myungsoo went silent.

"While i have to get on my knees and beg so hard to follow my dream and even then get rejected by father," Chanyeol teared up. "You are complaining about the order of your cameras? can't you ever be satisfied?"

Chanyeol paused. his emotions were pouring out.

"Let me ask you a question Kim Myungsoo. Why did you come back to Korea? wasn't it enough for you to take baseball away from me? how much more are you going to twist my life? Why, Italy wasn't satisfying for you? your greed wouldn't let you fo-"

Slap

Chanyeol fell to the floor with his cheeks gripped inside his palm. Chanyeol looked up at Myungsoo with resentment in his eyes, coated with crystalline tears. Jieun rushed and tended to Chanyeol who didn't take his eyes off his brother. Jieun tended to his red bloated cheeks and looked up at Myungsoo with a pleading face. "Please stop..." she whispered in fear. She was scared also, because she had never thought that Myungsoo could be this scary.

 "Yes," Chanyeol croaked.

"Please stop."

Chanyeol shook off Jieun's grip and walked into his room slamming the door behind him.