ISEUL’S POV

I wake up to sunlight slapping me right on the face, which is usually not the case. 

“Dammit.”  I mumble, rolling over to plant my face on the sheet.  What’s wrong with the sun today—urgh, right.  This is a new place.  This is my home now.  Right.

There’s a nagging kind of sadness that creeps back to me, on its way to lodging itself back at the back of my head like where it’s been the whole day yesterday.   I sigh and squeeze my eyes shut.  No.  No.  Today is a new day, Iseul.  You will not relapse.  You promised yourself.  Today you’re moving on. 

And with that thought in my head, suddenly I’m not so sleepy anymore.

Sitting up, I yawn and glare at the window placed inconsiderately above my low-standing bed.  Okay, I see what’s going on.  The curtains are tatty and nearly transparent!  I’m going to buy new ones! 

Come to think of it, I should look around this new apartment and see what else it needs.  Then I’ll go shopping for home appliances this afternoon after I browse around for jobs this morning!  Yup, sounds like a plan to me.  Why?  Because it’ll last the whole day and what I need right now is to be kept busy the whole day. 

So that I don’t think of… certain things.

Although I guess constantly reminding yourself to not think of certain things cancels out the whole idea of not thinking about it but—whatever.  I’ll just keep myself busy and not think about certain things. 

With that thought in mind I get up.  I pull some clothes out of my suitcase because I haven’t hung them up in the cupboard yet, which reminds me—hangers!  I’m going to get hangers too today.

See?  My plan is already in action.  Everything is going fine.

Now what I need is a little bit of music.

Placing my phone face-down, I set a random playlist on shuffle.  A soft, gentle ticking comes on.

Strangely, these days
I like things easy…

Palette.  Of course.  Even my phone knows what’s best for me. 

Humming along to the tune I busy myself by going checking every nook and cranny of the kitchen with a small notepad in my hand, taking notes of stuff to buy.  Hand towels.  Basic cooking utensils.  Soap, cutlery—goddammit, who am I kidding?  Of course I’ll be needing everything!

“Aish.”  I huff, making my way to the bathroom.  Since there’s no point in taking stock like this, I’m just going to shower first. 

Halfway through lathering my hair with shampoo and BTS’s Not Today, I hear someone a doorbell being rung.  I freeze and stop massaging my scalp, trying to listen if it’s the bell to my apartment or not.

Ding dong

Ding dong

Oh no.  I think it is. 

My knee-jerk reaction to situations like this is simply pretending that I don’t exist, so I quickly turn off the shower and stand extremely still.

And that makes me realize how ing loud the song I’m playing is.

“Oh .”  I whisper, quickly reaching past the shower curtain to turn the song off.  It must be a ing noise complaint!!  Not even 24 hours in this place and I’m already pissing people off—does the HOC have policies for relocated run-ins who need to be relocated yet again?

The song halts abruptly in the middle of the riot of a chorus and I listen again, hoping that whoever is ringing my doorbell would go away.

Ding dong

I groan.  “Aish!!”

There’s only one way out of this and it’s the same way to get out of this apartment—it’s to go to the door!  I’m going to have to answer it!  Quickly turning on the water, I rinse off some of the shampoo and soap before quickly stepping out.  I wear my bathrobe and wrap a towel around my still bubbly head and walk out.

.  This is scary.  What if it’s an axe murderer outside?  I’m basically and wet and very vulnerable to axes.  .   

Ding dong

Ding dong

I nearly trip over my own feet in a cocktail of panic and shock.  Stupid ing axe —

DING DONG

Is it even possible for the bell to sound louder?!

"I'm coming, I'm coming!!"  I yell, tightening the towel around my head. 

Okay, I don’t think this is an axe murderer.  If it is, he can just axe my door down.  I don’t think this is a noise complaint either, because I’ve turned off the music already, so who in the world—oh, I know who this is!  This must be that stupid landlady from yesterday!   The one with the pissy mood and severely plucked eyebrows!

My visitor continues to ring the doorbell, and if I'm not mistaken he or she or the alleged landlady or whoever even starts ringing it to the general rhythm of Despacito, making a monotonous rendition of the Spanish hit song.   But I'm also starting to doubt that this is the landlady.  I don't think she’s a Daddy Yankee kind of person, or any kind of daddy for that matter but why are we even—shut up, Iseul, shut up.  Just open your goddamn door. 

"Hang on!"  I call out one last time, scrambling, before finally getting a hold on the doorknob.  I twist it and yank the door open angrily.  "May I help you?!"

Snapping unfriendlily isn't at the top of the list of appropriate door-opening etiquette, but fortunately this time I’m spared from the worst possible consequences—because in front of my door is Jae.

Yeah, Jae.

See also: human reminder of the HOC and all of yesterday’s problems.

I sigh and close my eyes for a moment.

“Hi Seul!”  She grins, flashing me a ridiculously bright smile as she holds up a red plastic bag dangling off her forefinger.  “I brought food.”

“Jae,” I say slowly, finding the words to say, “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’m in the mood for—”

“Food?” 

“No.”  I try not to snap.  “For… talking, or whatever it is you’re here for.  I know it’s complicated with you being still involved and you probably want to ask what the hell happened, don’t think I can do this now yet.  Can we just do this when I’m not facing a possible breakdown every time I anymore?”

“Yah.”  Jae blinks at me.  “I’m not here to talk about that.  I’m just here as your sister who wants to make you feel better and more comfortable at your new home with food and emotional support, not talk.” 

I scoff.  “Yeah, no, the topic is bound to surface eventually.”

“No, I swear it won’t.”  Jae holds up her right hand.  “If it does, you can instantly kick me out.  We don’t have to talk about it until you want to.  Better yet, we don’t have to talk about it at all.  I mean, if that’s what you want, of course.”

I open my mouth, ready to attack her with skepticism, but Jae beats me to it again.  “Because, Iseul, before anything else… I’m your sister.  I just want to make you… happy.”

.  Stupid Jae.  Stupid sister—always knows how to soften me and turn me into jelly. 

Jae probably senses me crying internally and flashes me a billion-watt grin agai.  “So we don’t have to talk about it until you’re ready!” 

“Which is not today.”

“Fine by me.”

I narrow my eyes at her.  “Anything, even stuff on the lowest scale of relevance to the topic, will get your kicked out immediately.”

“I solemnly swear I am up to all good.”  Jae very solemnly vows, crossing her right hand over her heart. 

I roll my eyes and can’t help but smile a little, and a second later she’s inside. 

“Can you smell this?”  She sings, swinging the plastic bag millimeters away from my face.  “It’s the smell of motivation and a bright future~!”

“Yah!”  I swerve to avoid it.  “What is that?  There isn’t even any smell.”   

Jae huffs, sitting down on my couch.  “This is from Wraps and Rolls!”

“What and why?”

“What?”  Jae wrinkles her nose.

“I mean, what is that and why did you get that?”  I ask, poking through the pink and purple wrappers.  “Burgers?  Why are they purple?!  Are these cornflakes on the patty—it’s not patty!  Jae, it’s not even patty!”

“I know!”  Jae laughs, pulling one of the purple burgers out.  She spreads it open.  “Look!  It’s ice cream!”

As if on cue, a dollop of hazelnut colored filling drips down to the white table.  “Jae!” 

“What?!  It’s bound to melt!”  Jae says defensively, wiping it away with a tissue.  “Come on, let’s eat!  I got their French toasts too!”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but I was actually in the middle of a shower.”  I pat my towel-turbaned head and point to the fridge.  “Just put it there first.”

“Okay!”  Jae immediately leaps up, and I don’t know how she does it—she seems like she the thing we’re avoiding has no relation whatsoever to her and she isn’t even aware that it has happened.  She looks perfectly fine and fine and fine and even though there’s no reason for her not to be, what I’m trying to say is that one look into my eyes and you will undoubtedly see layers and layers of crippling depression. 

But I think I’m doing okay.  I think I’m acting okay.  Not as okay as Jae, maybe, but I got this.  I’m not an emotional wreck anymore.  , now I’m thinking about it again.  I have to stop.

“I’ll be fast.”  I tell Jae, quickly going back to the bathroom. 

I turn the water back on and rinse my hair more thoroughly this time.  And without Not Today blaring just behind the paper-thin shower curtain to distract me, I’m constantly trying to get rid of thoughts like— has Jongguk eaten?  Has Kai eaten?  What did they have for breakfast?  Who made them breakfast? 

But then again, consciously trying to get rid of thoughts basically means you’re entertaining them all the same.  I sigh and lean against the cold shower wall. 

I don’t care if they ate or not.  I don’t care what they had for breakfast.  I don’t care who made it for them because literally no one needs to, there’s cereal and milk and yoghurt in the fridge and Jongguk can make himself a bowl if he needs to—

. 

I lost.  I’m thinking about them again in the middle of not thinking about them. 

Sighing, I shake my head, simultaneously getting rid of water droplets.  Let’s try this again. 

You got this, Iseul.  You got this. 

“I prefer normal burgers and normal ice-cream.”  Jae sulks through a mouthful.  “I admit it, I just got these because they looked pretty.”

I nod.  “I would’ve done the same.”

“So what’s your plan for today?”  Jae pushes in the last chunk into and wipes her hands.  “Do you have any plans yet?”

“I do!  It’s job hunting in the morning and then apartment shopping after that.”  I say.  “And I’m gonna go find today’s paper and get a subscription for this place.” 

“Where are you gonna look?” 

I try to ignore the twisting feeling in my stomach.  “Um… everywhere?”

Jae arches an eyebrow.  “Everywhere?  All the way to the Pacific Ocean?”

I shoot her a look.  “I mean, those career magazines, newspapers, online websites… and I might even try cold calling.”

“You got any companies in mind?”

“I have done summer internships, you know.”  I toss my wet hair lightly.  “Or, well, I guess if everything fails and I can’t land a serious job right away I could try going back to one of those cafes I part-timed at during the semester—”

“Yah.”  Jae glares at me.  “Don’t think of that first.”

I shrug.  “I’m just saying.  I mean, to be honest, these days job-hunting is all about connections isn’t it?   Since I obviously don’t have a family member to ask for referrals or anything...”

“Well…”  Jae hums thoughtfully.  “Do you know any of your friends who have landed something somewhere?”

“As hard as it is to believe, I’ve only graduated like… what, 5 days ago?  I don’t think anyone except those who got direct offers have landed anything yet.”  I answer, scrolling through a job posting website.  “Right?  I mean, or am I the only SNU Faculty of Mathematics graduate still living in sweatpants at 11 in the morning?”

“Well, to be fair, you’ve only been unemployed for a couple of hours—!”  Jae’s eyes widen and she quickly clamps a hand over .  I narrow my eyes at her. 

“Too close!”  I wag a finger at her and she obediently nods.  “First warning.” 

“I was just trying to comfort you.”  Jae grins sheepishly, quickly turning away to take another bite of food.  She slides down the couch and sits on the floor examining the small DVD player rack below the TV stand.  Suddenly, she looks up at me, looking a little hesitant.

“What?”

“Nothing.”  She quickly replies, turning back to the empty bookcase.  I frown and get off the couch too.

“What?”  I ask again, trying to see what she’s looking at.  Is there something wrong with the DVD player?

“Um, this.”  Jae mumbles, pointing at the top of the rack where the TV stands.  I look, and—oh.  How could I miss it?

Lying on top of the rack, just by the oval base of the sleek TV, is a white envelope.  It spotlessly white, just as white as rack itself—which is probably why I missed it yesterday.  The only thing that gave away its camouflage is a small, intricate logo embossed in gold at the V of the unsealed flap. 

A small, intricate logo with three familiar words.

House of Cards

“What in the world…” I whisper to myself, immediately snatching it off the table.  I unfold the flap and open the envelope, finding a neatly folded letter inside.  What the is this? 

“What is that?”  Jae asks quietly. 

I don’t answer.  With fingers trembling in fear and anticipation, I unfold it and begin reading.

To whom it may concern,

I am writing on the behalf of Seo Iseul who I have supervised over the past year.  It has been my great pleasure to know Ms. Seo a quality assurance analyst at the House of Cards and as an extremely personable woman.  She is a responsible, dep—

“Goddammit.”  I cuss, instantly folding it back up.  I shove it back inside the envelope and toss it across the room, hoping it lands in the waste basket.  “What a polished load of bullcrap.”

Jae stares up at me.  “Is that a—”

“A reference letter.”  I sigh, going back to plop down on the couch.  “It was sort of a prearranged agreement.  I’m not going to use it.”

“Um… okay?”  Jae tilts her head questioningly.  She’s probably itching to ask but scared that I’ll kick her out if she does.

I sigh again.  “After graduation, we basically had an agreement that when I quit he would help me make up for the time lost and help me get a job with a reference letter.  Or a recommendation—I can’t remember.  But it turns out that I quit not even a whole week after grad so I sure as hell won’t be needing that.” 

“Oh.”  Jae says. 

“Yeah.”

“Well… at least he’s holding up his end of the deal?”

“I guess.”  I shrug.  “But in hindsight, it was pretty dumb.  I should’ve thought about things more realistically.  I mean, this letter thing is quite a slick move and it might help, but I still should’ve thought about getting an actual job more seriously, you know?  Maybe I can just work the evenings at his place or something if we did want things to continue.  Maybe I can come around and help out on the weekends.  Maybe we can—I don’t know, we’ll have to try harder to make things work, of course, but nothing good ever comes easy, does it?”

Jae nods silently, looking intently at me.  Somehow, all the words are just fountaining out of me.  I continue. 

“But I didn’t even consider that—back then it was so easy for me to throw away my degree and my future and my life just for an unreliable babysitting gig.  It was so easy for me to just… waste it all.  Waste everything like that.”  I shake my head and heave another sigh.  “Maybe it was a good thing this happened to me.  Maybe I needed something to open my eyes.  If we both wanted it, I don’t have to stick by him all the time to be with him, you get it?  We’ll work something out, somehow.  Because look—if one of us doesn’t want it, even my decision to stick to him won’t be able to keep us together.” 

“Damn right.”  Jae nods.  She thumps my back proudly.  “That’s my girl!  Strong and smart as ever.  You’re taking this so well, Seul.”

That’s where people are often mistaken.  To know and be able to say all that is one thing, but to truly be okay and accept it is another.  I bite my lip, trying to push away all the dark clouds inside my head.  “Yeah… I guess.”

The truth is, I’m still trying.  I’m still trying to be as well as Jae thinks I am.

“It’s amazing how you’re doing okay already.”  Jae gushes encouragingly, completely oblivious to my true feelings.  “You’re amazing, Iseul.  Really.”

At that, I burst.

“I’m not.”  I reject, frustrated.  “I’m still sad.  I still don’t trust myself with thinking of him because I know I’ll still get depressed as hell.  That was my logic speaking.  My brain.  That’s what I know, but not how I am, Jae.  I’m still… I’m not… okay.”   

Jae falls completely silent and to be honest, I’m glad she did.  I don’t feel like talking about it anymore.  I look down, quietly picking at the cuticle of my toes.  Urgh.  Disgusting, I know, but this is normal, right?

“Motherer.”

I look up.  “What?”

“ing everything.”  Jae shifts herself right next to me in one move and before I know it I’m being hugged so whole that I’m pretty sure the last time I was hugged like this was when I was five.  “I’m just so mad at everything.  Don’t worry, Seul.  Don’t worry.  You’ll be okay.  Hell, we’ll make you okay.  I promise.” 

How many times have I told myself that too? 

“Yah.”  I laugh, trying to wriggle away, which only makes Jae hug me harder.  I try again but she literally locks me inside her arms and I have no choice but to smile to myself.  I tap her head.  “Are you gonna cry or something?”

“Psh, no!”  Jae retorts, immediately pulling away.  “Why, are you?”

“No!”  I shoot back.  “You see?  My eyes are dry!”

“Good!”  She ruffles my hair before pushing away my face with her palm.  “Okay, I’m done giving you love.”

“Mmrff—YAH!”  I glare, running my fingers through my hair.  “If you’re done then get out!”

Jae snickers but leans back on the other end of the couch and stretches out her legs, resting her feet on my lap like a self-entitled older sister who thinks she deserved a foot massage just because she tried to cheer up her sibling for 0.2 seconds.  I shoot her a look but Jae simply wriggles her toes with a smug smile.  “Look.  Cuticle free!”

“Oh my gosh!  What the hell was that for?!”  I yell, pushing her feet off me.  This is how it is with Jae and me—this is how we love each other. 

“I saw you picking at yours just now.”  She giggles, and this is one of those rare moments where I want to punch her with a brick on the face and hug her at the same time.  “Yah, do you want to go for a pedicure?”

“You kidding me?  I need to find a job!”  I throw up my hands.  “Where do I start?!”

Jae jumps to her feet, landing with a heavy thump.  “Let’s go!”

“What?”  I look up at her and wrinkle my nose.  “Where?”

“Job hunting, right?”

“Um, we have the internet?”  I say, gesturing to my laptop.  “I have this??”

“Yeah, take that with you.”  Jae grabs my laptop charger and throws it at me.  “Let’s do this at a coffee shop or something—just some place with magazines and newspapers that you can use too.  Plus you need to go outside and get some air!” 

“Now?”  I ask, already slipping my laptop back into its sleeve.  “Are you coming with me?”

Jae tsks impatiently.  “I said let’s, didn’t I?  Don’t worry, I’ve got time.” 

 “Until when?”  I can’t help it—I’m a little skeptical knowing that she’s still affiliated with the HOC no matter what. 

“I don’t know?”  Jae shrugs dismissively, barely sparing a look at her wristwatch.  “Just until I have to go.”

I look at her exasperatedly.  “Jae…”

“Seul, what does it matter?”  Jae interrupts, grumbling a little.  “I know what you’re thinking.  But I told you already, haven’t I?  Before anything else, I’m your sister.” 

I like it, I’m twenty-five
I know you hate me
I got this, I’m truly fine…

Oh God.  It’s this song again.  It’s IU’s Palette again—inside this coffee shop.  I’m starting to think this is the soundtrack of my day today.  Well, at least it’s this song and not some tear-threatening, memory-evoking song like… My Everything or something.  Sighing, I drag out a chair and plop myself down on a table for two first while Jae orders.

“Here."  Jae says, throwing me a pile of magazines and newspapers onto our table with one hand while carrying our tray of drinks in the other.  "That's one way to start."

"Thanks."  I take one randomly and flip through the pages.  As I browse through the pages, skimming through the ads, one small question becomes clearer and clearer.

"The thing is, I took Mathematics because you can't go wrong with it— there's a thousand jobs that need it and you can go anywhere with that degree.  Jae, I don't even know if I—" I pause, flipping through some more.  "I don't know what I want???"

"Just put it into big groups first— work out the details later.  Which appeals to you?  Analyst?  Developer?  Researcher?"  Jae opens up today's paper.  "Or, you know, if you really are desperate you can just apply to everything."

"But still, not everything everything, right?"

"Well... yeah."  Jae takes a sip of her kiwi drink from the bottle— and yes, this is the exact drink that Eunho and her friends drink religiously in School 2017.  I literally dragged Jae here just to somewhat reenact the cafe scenes. 

"I was thinking of software developing or something.  I mean, I took computer science and engineering electives back then so..."

"There you have it."  Jae taps her temple with her forefinger.  "You now have direction."

"But like I mean I guess I could go for being an analyst too—"

"Haish, see?  What did I say?  Just apply to everything that catches your eye!  Don't limit the search down just yet."  Jae takes a sip from my drink this time, wagging a finger at me.  "You don't get to be picky now, Seul."

I roll my eyes slightly though I'll probably end up doing so anyway.  I turn on my laptop.

"So what are you doing now?"

"Finding my resume."  I reply, browsing through the folders.  "I have to update my resume.” 

Jae talks with her straw bitten between her teeth.  “You know you can’t put the…”

“Jae, I know.”  You shoot her a look.  “Don’t worry, I know what I can and cannot put in a resume.”

“Hehe, sorry.”  Jae grins sheepishly.  “Anyway, give it to me when you’re done!  I’ll help look through it.”

“You?”  I raise an eyebrow skeptically.

“Yeah!  Or send it to an online resume-grading site or something.”  She replies, stirring her drink.  “You know how everything’s online these days, right?  You can even use Pinterest to—”

“Iseul?” 

It’s a man’s voice behind me that says that, and I whirl around so hard I nearly knock myself over with the centripetal force.  This is ridiculous, I know, because whoever it is behind me can’t be whoever my heart wants it to be.  And when I’ve fully turned around is when I’m disappointed but at the same time trying to hold my disappointment because I should’ve known from the start that it couldn’t be him.

It’s Mark.  With another guy who I can’t remember whose name is. 

“Hey.”  He smiles.  With my mouth hanging open I watch him turn to his friend and say something before walking over to Jae and I slowly.  “You busy with something?” 

“Um…” I start stuttering, for some reason, which is weird because this is just Mark.  My eyes dart to the pile of magazines and my open laptop— the very same one with my humble resume glaring off the screen. 

“You doing some—oh have you heard again from Suzy?”  Mark blurts, his eyes suddenly getting wide.  I try not to visibly wince. 

“The thing is… she’s…”

“Still off the radar.”  Jae quickly pitches in, looking at me.  I quickly nod in agreement.

“I have no idea where the hell she is.”

Neither do I care anymore.

“It’s kind of weird.”  Mark says thoughtfully, mulling it over for a second before shaking his head.  “Anyway, I’m sure she’ll turn up.  This is Jackson, by the way.  I don’t know if you’ve noticed but he was in some of our classes.”

Jackson nods, throwing a lazy half-smile.  “Hey.”

I smile back.  “Hi.  Um, this is Jae, my sister.” 

Jae and the two guys exchange heys and hellos.  Jackson then thumps Mark’s back before going ahead to the counter, while Mark, horrifyingly enough, pulls out a chair and invites himself to the table right next to ours.  “What are you up to?”

“Um.”  Dammit, I’m stuttering a lot today.  I look down at my laptop and the open magazines.  “I’m just… looking for a job, I guess.  Jae’s helping me.”

“Oh, you’re looking for a job?”  Mark repeats, sounding surprised.  “So you dropped the babysitting one?  That’s great, Seul!   What do you have so far?” 

Thankfully, with people like Mark who take it upon themselves to assume and make up their own conclusions, I don’t have to explain myself much during situations like these.  “I don’t know… just some…”

“You know, if you’re interested, there’s this company that’s currently hiring people in the field of developers.  I’m applying there.  Are you interested?  We can be interns together!” 

“You know, that sounds great!”  Jae chirps in.  “What company is it?  We’ll look it up.”

“Developers?  What, software?”  I look at Mark curiously.  Because if it is in software then I guess I can go take a shot at it because I kinda know about software—not to mention 2013’s Hackathon that gave me the motherboard of all nightmares—

“Yes, software.”  Mark nods.  “How does it sound?”

Oh my God, it’s here.  A job prospect.  Right in front of my eyes.  Not literally in front of me, but at least now I know where I’m going to apply to.  , this is really happening.  It’s exhilarating.

“Great.”  I nod.

“What kind of software?”  Jae asks curiously.

Here, Mark turns somewhat sheepish.  He rubs a hand behind his neck and goes, “Um…”

“What?”  I immediately ask, furrowing my eyebrows.  “What is it?”

“You know how I part-timed in a taxi company, right?  So I figured I’d apply to this relatively new Seoul-based start-up online transport system, like a ride-hailing, food-delivering app.”  He explains.  “They’re looking for developers to develop their maps, routing, and tracking programs, which is a fantastic fit for someone of my experience and educational background.”

“Did you quote that from them?”  I wrinkle my nose.

“Kind of.”  Mark admitted, stretching his arms.  “Point is, I’m in for an interview.  But application deadlines are still open.  Here, I’ll email you the details.  Look it up.” 

“Thanks.”  I say, watching Mark pull out his phone.  Oh God, a real job.  It’s here.  Do I… do I really want to…

No.  Shut up, Iseul.  Yes, yes you do.  Even if you don’t, you should.  Stop thinking about what’s past and take care of your future.  Your broke is going to need that job. 

“Sent!”  Mark declares, swiping his thumb over the screen with a flourish before pocketing back his phone.  “Tell me when you’ve done it!”

“Okay.”  I mumble, for some reason getting really nauseous.  “Thanks.”

“No problem.”

Just then, Jackson returns with two drinks on a tray.  “I swear, Mark, if I were you I’d send myself to post-graduate education on health studies or something.  Look!  Look at your drink!  If you die of a heart attack I’m going to be arrested for giving it to you!” 

Mark laughs and claps delightedly at the foot-tall glass of whip-cream, chocolate sauce, and everything else.  “Shut up and pretend to enjoy your healthy matcha, Jackson.”

“Green equals to matcha?  Uncreative.  This is cucumber and melon, my friend.”  Jackson replies pompously.  “Know your veggies.”

“A melon isn’t.”

Jackson glares at him.  “Whatever.”

Jae laughs in amusement, looking at me as if asking ‘have they always been like this?’.  I shrug.  Suddenly Jackson looks up, blinks at Jae for a few seconds. 

“You two,” he starts, the straw still between his lips, “look insanely alike.”

Jae rolls her eyes while at the same time, I groan.  “We know.” 

“Are you guys like fraternal twins?”

“No!”  We both chorus together again.

Jackson grins.  “And are you tired of getting asked that already?”

“ABSOLUTELY/HELL YES!” 

He claps his hand.  “This is so fun.”

I glare at him while Jae gets up.  “Well as fun as it is for you, I’m afraid I’m going to leave.” 

“What?!”  I immediately shoot to my feet too.  “Why?!”

“I have to go.”  Jae replies briefly without offering furt