5

“Oppa have you seen my—“

Hyemi stops in her tracks. The table was completely covered with a complete breakfast meal. Way more than they would usually eat and her brother wasn’t fond of washing dishes. Was he finally starting to eat like before?

“Gyu-oppa?” she tries again in the kitchen, and her brother nearly jumped so badly that the egg in the pan flew and he scrambled on his feet to catch it again. Laughter bubbled from her gut and the older just sighed, turning to her, his blue eyes strikingly apparent; as if the sky had crammed into his irises.

He nods, waiting for her to continue so she makes motion to the table across the counter, “What’s all this?”

“U-uh,” Sunggyu turns back to the stove, turning off the fire and carefully placing the egg with about seven other cooked ones. “Hm…” he hums, bolting past her with the plate and sets it down with the rest.

The table had three plates of stacks and piles of pancakes, syrup of three different brands in the middle. Then a bowl of strawberries, the leaves plucked off and cores removed. A bottle of whipping cream stood beside it, and she knew Sunggyu loved to fill the little berries with the cream and eat them. Then another bowl full of blueberries, another with cherry tomatoes, lettuce piled onto a plate beside them; freshly green and cleanly washed. Spreadable cheese beside it, the white kind with basil and all that savory goodness in it; turkey slices neatly placed onto a nearby plate around the edge. The middle garnished with celery and a ranch dip. Then, a plate of waffles, randomly there, with bottles of white chocolate and caramel syrup, along with cilantro and mustard, standing beside it innocently unopened.

“Are we having guests?” Hyemi asks again as she watches Sunggyu try to find room for the sunny side up eggs beside the hardboiled ones, another plate of deviled eggs beside it. “Why is there so much food?”

“Breakfast,” Sunggyu briefly says to her, nearly running past back into the kitchen and opens the fridge. Pulling out a carton of milk, strawberry and banana fruit milk, a large water bottle, orange and finally apple juice jugs, all piled onto his chest and his thin arms, trying to close the fridge.

She shakes her head, going over to help him and he nods with thanks. Shuffling to the counter to empty his hands and places three cups besides all the choices of drinks.

“Can you answer my question now?” she asks again, sitting herself down when Sunggyu started to stare at her and making motions to a seat. “What’s up?”

“Breakfast,” Sunggyu repeats, pacing in circles and counting his fingers. “Don’t know…forgot what breakfast. I-I’m supposed to remember.”

“Remember what breakfast?” Hyemi daintily picks up a waffle and the maple syrup from the table onto her plate. “Don’t we usually have some toast and cheese, maybe even scrambled eggs and water for breakfast?” she thinks again, pouring the syrup. “Sometimes even sausage.”

“Sausage!” Sunggyu snaps, looking to her and she was met with skies again, nodding furiously. “Sausage. Scrambled. Genius, Hyemi-ah.”

“Glad I could help?” she stuffs , watching from the table Sunggyu scrambling around the kitchen again. Putting a pan to the heat and rummaging the fridge yet again for eggs as he puts them to the side then starts to ruffle his lengthening hair.

“No sausage!” he nearly screams, if you call a normal volume screaming. But he barely goes over a whisper these days and Hyemi is happily surprised that her brother was actually doing more than typing on his little laptop. He comes out of the kitchen as she reaches for some tomatoes and grabs his coat. Pointing (and almost jumping) at the pan in the kitchen repeatedly until Hyemi nods and he nods back.

As he bounds to the entrance, another door opens. Immediately he skids to stop his tracks and Sunggyu’s sky eyes are so wide Hyemi laughs again as her brother bolts back into the kitchen. She hears the tinkling of chopsticks against a bowl and guesses he chose to make eggs instead.

A male with tussled chocolate hair steps out, in what she realizes is her brother’s shirt (it’s quite tight on said stranger. Must’ve been an old shirt) and looks over to her. He seemed so lost and out of it when he asked her, “Where am I?”

“My flat, I’m sure,” she says. Remembering the face she smiles, “Woohyun-sunbae?”

“Hyemi?” he blinks, looking around the little hall he was in and steps towards her. “You live here?”

“Pretty sure.”

“What’s all that?” Woohyun makes it into the living room, eyeing all the food. “Are you throwing a party?”

“No, but Gyu-oppa thinks we are or something,” she goes back to taking a pancake. “Keeps making more.”

“Sunggyu…”

Hyemi looks up towards her sunbae and the male was blankly staring at her brother, who was still at the pan. The oil sizzling as he pours the beaten egg into it and it seemed he wasn’t even remotely aware that their guest had awoken.

“Oppa must’ve brought you over last night without waking me. Seems like you didn’t know either,” she laughs. “You two are weird, but it’s nice to see you again.”

“Yeah, it’s nice,” Woohyun smiles at her. It’s bright and warm, and she wishes Sunggyu would smile like that again. “He’s grown thin.”

Again, Woohyun’s back to staring at her brother. “Pale… Has he been out?”

“Only goes out at night. When I wake up he’s already made breakfast and my lunch, and once I get home he leaves,” she informs. “I thought… I thought he was out with you guys. But Dongwoo-oppa came by a few months ago and yelled at Gyu-oppa. He’s been home a lot more since.”

“I heard,” Woohyun sighs. “Say, I’m going to talk to your brother. Go get ready for school?”

“Oh yeah,” she looks to the clock, there was still time. “I was looking for my ribbon.”

Wiping , she smiles to him and goes back to her room, closing the door softly. She hadn’t seen Woohyun over at their house since maybe more than a year ago, at the old apartment. Those days, Sunggyu would always be around him. She always saw her sunbae and Sunggyu walking around school, pretty much plastered together and laughing. It was also easy to figure out, because they wore those jackets around, that they were the ones causing that spat of trouble. But they were also loveable. Those guys.

Then she remembered how her brother had disappeared f