I was glad to know that Kim Jaejoong was not home, otherwise I’d have bailed out and called Sehun or Kai to pick me up right away. Mr. Kim was still in the US to help Jimin get settled. Jin was in his last semester in college and he was expected to be back in Beijing after the sem. His graduation day would be held the next year and before he goes back to the US for his graduation, he was expected to start working in Fusion with Luhan. Jimin was enrolled in Berkeley and he had to commute to school and back to St. Helena every day. Mr. Kim was there to make sure he was well adjusted to the would-be routine. Mrs. Kim had said that they originally wanted to rent an apartment for Jimin in Berkeley, so he didn’t have to travel back and forth, but Jimin sort of argued with his appa that he was old enough to decide and he also wanted to experience the whole commuting thing. Jin had spoken out and said that it wouldn’t hurt to let Jimin drive himself to and from school everyday. It wasn’t a really big deal because it would only take about an hour.

During the time that Mrs. Kim was telling the story, J had been gobbling up the soup that I cooked for Jungkook. We were already seated at the dinner table and he seemed to have liked my cooking, so he asked for a second helping. He also kept looking at me and Jungkook alternately as he sipped the soup.

Jungkook was quiet all throughout dinner. He only nodded and smiled when his eomma addressed him and when his name was mentioned. I didn’t try to address him directly when I spoke. I was kind of conscious because J was intently looking at me and him when I spoke.

After dinner, Mrs. Kim had excused herself. She had some paperwork to sort out, she had said. J had lingered and made the atmosphere more awkward than it already was.

 

J: So, dinner has formally ended and I think that officially means you are part of the family.

Me: Mwoya?

J: In the last three years, Kookie has not invited anyone here for dinner, you know.

Me: Uhm..

Jungkook: Hyung

J: It’s true, though. The only people who are here during dinner are family. No one outside this family has had dinner with us. Well, except for those formal gatherings that appa has.

Jungkook: It’s the same.

J: Aniyo. Tonight is not a business gathering and Xiao Yi is not a businesswoman.

Me: Ne, I’m not interested in business talks.

J: Ah…welcome to the family, Xiao Yi.

Me: Hahaha, thank you J oppa.

J: Aigoo! No oppa. You can just call me J. You keep forgetting.

Me: Ah, yes. I keep forgetting.

J: It’s alright. You are little sister now, so it’s okay.

Jungkook: Tch.

J: You said something Kookie?

Jungkook: Ani.

J: I wonder what’s on TV tonight. Kookie-yah, turn the TV on.

 

I was glad when J changed the topic. We were in the family room and it felt like I was in the clouds on a sunny day. The room was dominantly white. And most of the cabinets and stuff were either glass or polished dark oak wood. It worked, though. I noticed that all throughout the house, the dominant colors were white, dark brown to the point that it was already black, and a hint of blue and red. Very masculine. I wondered how Mrs. Kim dealt with the fact that the house looked masculine. The only feminine touches I saw were the sofa set in the family room and the flower arrangements that were placed strategically around the house. I didn’t actually know how their upstairs rooms looked like, so I might be wrong in saying that the whole house was masculine. But I could be right, too. Knowing that Mr. Kim was every bit the dominant male figure.

I wondered if Jungkook had a say on picking out some stuff in the house.

I tentatively looked at him. He was facing the TV and blankly staring at it. He had not even turned it on. He had the remote control in his hand, but he didn’t press the power button. J was sitting beside him and talking nonstop about what Jin and Jimin were doing at the very moment.

I remembered that Tao and Kyungie were in the US now, too. They were enrolled in colleges in LA. Papa was okay with it, since we had an uncle who lived in LA.  They would have started their classes by now, too. I wasn’t sure if the two of them would regularly visit our uncle, but I was sure that they would be spending a whole lot of time in St. Helena with Jimin that it only took five hours to travel to Napa Valley.

I started feeling a bit uneasy, knowing that most of my brothers were in other countries now. I still was in that denial stage where I kept telling myself that the boys were just in school and would come home late at night. In London, it was like that during the first few months, but I got used to the fact that it was only me, Luhan, Xiumin and Kris ge there. Until the time when Suho and Lay ge arrived, so it was a bit more noisy and crowded at the London home. Not to mention the time when all of us spent Christmas there.

I told myself that it would be just like that, soon. I would just need some time to get used to the current situation. At least I still had Kai and Sehun with me. I won’t be thinking of the time when they had to go to college too. I would probably be left alone by that time.

Ah, no. Lu ge was expected to manage Fusion and after he spends his vacation in France with the other two oldies, he’d be back home. I’d have him, Kai and Sehun at home then. And when the other two go to college, I will still have Lu ge with me at home. I was pretty sure that Xiumin and Kris ge would be based in Thailand. Papa had established the fact that Xiumin oppa would manage the resort with him. Kris ge would probably be told to stay there to help out, too.

Suho still had two more years in medical school. And medical school needed a few more years before one can be an established doctor. That’s why mama stayed with him. She was planning to continue “upgrading” her knowledge. I didn’t know what you call it, but I think upgrading sounds legit to me. LOL.

Lay ge also still had two more years in music school. I was excited for the time when he graduates. I believe my long time dream of managing my brothers and making them stars were starting to get realized. Well, in this case, my dream of managing him.

Baekhyun was probably enjoying his time in France with the oldies now. I was sure that he was making use of the fact that the three oldies paid for most of his utility bills and such while they stay in his apartment. It wasn’t cheap, living in France. Papa was against him enrolling in France, not because it was expensive, but because he was alone there. Chanyeol and Chen preferred to study in Japan.

 

“You look exactly alike.”

 

I was woken up from my reverie. I turned to look at the owner of the voice. Hoseok oppa.

 

Me: Huh?

J: Kookie is spacing out, and you are spacing out. Are you thinking about the same things?

Me: I…what…things?

 

I turned to look at Jungkook. He was still staring at the TV. He looked like he was solving a rather hard math problem. So, that was how I looked like earlier?

 

Me: I was solving a math problem.

J: Your homework?

Me: Yes. That’s right.

J: Shouldn’t you do that at home?

Me: Oh, yes. Sure. But I just remembered I had a math homework.

J: Hmmm. Kookie. Hey!

Jungkook: Huh?

J: Are you solving a math problem too?

Jungkook: What math problem?

 

J had snorted and thumped Jungkook’s back. He grabbed the remote control from his younger brother’s hand and the TV. He flipped channels and settled on a talk show. The host of the show was interviewing a South Korean pop group who was in the country to promote their new album.

 

J: I told you to turn the TV on and you just stare at the screen instead.

Jungkook: Ah, sorry sorry. I was thinking about something.

J: Not math homework. What was it?

Jungkook: Do you have to know?

J: Of course. I’m your hyung.

Jungkook: Tch.

J: I have the right to know, Jungkook.

Jungkook: You are scaring Xiao Yi, hyung.

Me: Aniyo.

J: She’s cool, Kookie.

Me: *snorts*

J: Ahhh, daebak.

 

He had looked at me in awe. I bet he wasn’t expecting me to snort at that time. He slapped Jungkook’s back. The other elbowed his hyung.

 

Jungkook: What?

J: You have a cool girlfriend.

Jungkook: Aish…hyung. Xiao Yi is-

J: Ah, shut up. Shush. I can’t hear the interview.

 

He covered Jungkook’s mouth with his palms. I had to snort again. But I felt awkward again. Here I was, in the home of someone special and his brother already considered me as his girlfriend. Then J suddenly pushed Jungkook off the couch.

 

J: Show Xiao Yi around. Don’t just sit there.

 

Jungkook stood up and kicked J’s leg as he walked away from the couch. J didn’t even budge and watched the interview on TV. I looked up at Jungkook from where I sat. He jerked his head as if to say “Follow me.” I stood up and softly excused myself from J, who patted my arm and didn’t take his eyes off the TV. I walked toward Jungkook.

He started walking toward a door. I followed him. He opened the door and walked through it. He waited for me to walk out the door before he closed it behind us. He had led me to the backyard. He pressed some keys on a remote control pad that was installed in the wall just outside the door. The backyard lights went dim.

 

Their backyard overlooked a manmade lake. It looked like their backyard was near a golf club. There was a wrought-iron fence around their backyard, and there were two palm trees planted on the right, facing the lake. There was a gate leading to a sort of jetty, but there was no boat docked there.

Jungkook walked towards the well-lighted pool and sat on a lounge chair. I walked slowly toward the other lounge chair and sat down. I had to pat my skirt down. I was still wearing my school uniform, by the way. I saw him bite his lower lip and his dimple showed. I huffed and made a face. It was becoming a habit whenever he did something that made my heart race. He shifted in his seat and turned to look at me.

 

Him: So, this is our backyard. That’s the Tiangong Golf Club right there.

Me: Do you get rogue golf balls in your backyard?

Him: Since we moved? Not yet. But I doubt we will, though. The golf tees are on the other side…over  there.

Me: Oh, cool.

Him: Appa was thinking of buying a boat, so we could row around sometimes.

Me: You’d probably need permission from the golf club to use your boat in their property.

Him: Technically, we own half of the lake, so we can row around in it anytime.

Me: Your appa bought this place along with the lake?

Him: Kinda. The lake was already there when appa bought it. It’s manmade, so the real estate people who sold this place to us said that they allowed the club to extend the lake to this property for “aesthetics” purposes. Whatever that meant.

Me: The view is awesome from here, so I guess it works.

Him: You think so?

Me: Yeah.

Him: If…if you were to live here, would you like to have a lake in your backyard like this?

Me: Hmm. It’s not so bad.

Him: I think so, too.

Me: This is a nice place, actually.

Him: It’s not all finished yet, though. There are still some stuff being worked on upstairs.

Me: Jinjja?

Him: Yes. Wanna go check out upstairs?

Me: You said it’s not all finished yet.

Him: Yeah. Well, I can show you next time. Anyway, there are just the bedrooms upstairs and the media room. Most of the “functional” rooms are downstairs.

Me: Functional?

Him: Hahah, yeah. That’s what Jimin hyung said.

Me: What did he mean?

Him: Because the bedrooms are considered non-functional. We don’t function properly when we are in our rooms. Hahaha. The media room is the only exception.

Me: Hmm…

 

I nodded in approval and chuckled. I could totally understand non-functional when one is in the bedroom. And knowing boys because of my brothers, they spend most of their time sleeping. The bedroom was indeed a non-functional space.

He chuckled.

I tried to hide my amusement to what he said about Jimin’s definition of non-functional.

I huffed and he looked at me.

 

Him: Are you…functional when you are in your room?

Me: Sometimes.

Him: What kind of functions do you have?

Me: What kind of question is that?

Him: Oh.

 

Was he asking me what I do in my room? OMG. Awkward.

 

Him: You’re a girl.

Me: Yeah, I am.

Him: Sorry.

Me: For?

Him: For asking what you do in your…room…?

Me: Aish.

Him: *snorts*

Me: Let me ask you then, since you don’t function properly in your room, where do you function properly?

Him: What kind of function are you referring to?

Me: You know…

Him: What?

 

I realized the awkwardness of my question too late. I fixed my gaze at my feet on the grass. He was quick to improvise.

 

Him: I usually just listen to music if I’m not practicing skateboard outside. Well, sometimes I practice some dance steps.

Me: That’s some kind of function.

Him: Yeah.

Me: You’re part of the dance team now, too?

Him: Not really. I just join when they need extra people.

Me: Why not join the team?

Him: I’ve dedicated my high school extra-curricular time to skateboarding.

Me: Are you thinking of becoming a professional skateboarder?

Him: Me? Aniyo.

Me: Then why dedicate your extra-curricular time to…

Him: I won’t be able to do this forever. When I graduate from high school, I won’t be able to do this anymore. J and Jimin hyung can barely go skateboarding now. It’s the choices appa made for us. We just can’t do what we want all the time. Especially now that I’m a senior. I’m expected to follow Jin hyung’s example and take over the business when I graduate from college.

Me: Imposing stuff on you. That sounds familiar.

Him: Yeah. Your papa is like that, ne?

Me: Yup.

Him: I’m kind of envious of Taehyung. Apart from Yoongi hyung, they’re allowed to study the course they wanted. Well, Yoongi hyung chose his college degree based on what he wanted, not what his appa told him.

Me: Mr. Min is cool, ne?

Him: Ne. If I had a family and be a dad, I won’t impose my authority on my children.

 

I gulped.

He was suddenly talking about having a family and I wasn’t ready. Yes. I admit. I wasn’t ready to be a wife, even if I was daydreaming of that day when I become Mrs. Kim.

I just nodded, unable to speak because I was caught offguard.

He sighed and looked at the sky.

 

Him: The stars are out tonight.

Me: Good weather.

Him: *points* Do you see that?

 

I looked up and saw he was pointing to a cluster of stars. Orion’s Belt. I nodded.

 

Him: Every night, when I look up and the stars are out, I always look for those three stars.

Me: Same here.

Him: Jinjjayo?

Me: Ne. There’s something about them that draws me to just watch them.

Him: I’ve read that it’s named after a great hunter, Orion.

Me: Yes, it was. I’ve read about it too.

 

He smiled and made shooting sounds and acted as if to shoot the cluster of stars with an invisible bow and arrow. He chuckled, stating that he was greater than Orion because he didn’t have to hunt him down to shoot him.

 

Me: Pabo.

Him: *chuckles*

Me: You’re being functional right now.

Him: Yeah, I am. Shooting a mythical person is functional.

 

I remembered to check the time. It was twenty minutes to nine in the evening.

 

Me: It’s late. I need to go home, actually. Be functional and bring me home.

Him: Ah, yeah. Kai and Sehun probably are waiting outside your house.

Me: Not yet, though. I haven’t received a call or text from either one of them just yet, but it won’t be long now, though.

 

He got up from the lounge chair and placed his hands in his pockets. For a brief moment, I saw his collarbone for the top two buttons of his shirt were undone.

Wu Yinzi! Stop it!

I had to look away. I stood up and pretended to smooth my skirt. I only looked up when I felt him starting to walk. I followed closely behind him. He opened the door again and let me through before he closed it. He left the backyard with the dim lights. We passed by the family room and J was still there watching TV.

Jungkook poked his head inside and announced that he was bringing me home. J nodded and waved at me. I smiled at him and waved back.

 

“Take care, Xiao Yi.”

 

I had wanted to inform Mrs. Kim that I was going home as a courtesy, but Jungkook said that it was okay. He’d just tell his eomma when he returned. He had said that his mom would be busy with the paperwork anyway.

 

On the way home, we were quiet. He had turned his car stereo on. It played soft RnB. He tapped the steering wheel with his fingers. He kept glancing at the rearview mirror and making side glances at me. I nodded in time to the music, trying to calm my already beating-like-a-drum heart.

It was different.

Being in an open space with him, like the pool area, and being in a closed space, like the car, with him.

And add to that, the current song that played had a piano intro. It was the Haruman effect all over again.

I felt my cheeks burn.

I was hyperventilating, but I tried to hide it. I kept my cool. I couldn’t speak, and I wished he wouldn’t say something, because I wouldn’t be able to respond properly. If he said something, I would have to reply, right? But I knew I couldn’t, so I prayed hard that he wouldn’t say anything.

I risked a glance at him and saw that he looked like he was having an inner battle, too. I wanted to ask if he was okay, but that would mean I’d have to actually speak to ask him. I didn’t know sign language, so I couldn’t ask him that way. And even if I did know how to, he’d probably just look at me like I’ve totally lost it.

He chewed his lower lip.

Then he swallowed slowly.

I quickly averted my gaze to the road. I decided to skip the song and press the next button. But as soon as my hands reached for the car stereo, his hand had also reached out and his fingers brushed mine in the process. I withdrew my hand, looked at him and mouthed a sorry. My voice was still trapped inside my throat. He had withdrawn his hand too.

I just let the song finish. I bet he also wanted to skip that song. He might have been feeling the same as I was.

We reached home and he parked outside the gate.

 

Him: *huffs* That was some function.

Me: Uhm, yeah.

I didn’t have to ask what he meant. I knew what he meant. He got out of the car and opened my door for me. I thanked him for being a gentleman. He smirked. I fought the urge to flick his head. I knew that if I had another skin contact with him that I would probably lose it.

I stepped out of the car and swung my backpack over my shoulder. I felt his fingers grazed my hair. He showed me a twig that was in my hair.

“From the backyard.”

I thanked him again. Then I stepped toward the gate and typed the combination to unlock it. He went back inside his car. I managed to get my voice back and turned to face him.

“Take care on your way back.”

He smiled.

He waited until I was safe inside the gate before he drove off.

 

 

Hi! It’s been 20 days since my last update. A lot of things happened in between. First off, since I’m working part time as a first level editor, I’ve been editing 2 manuscripts. I’m saving up to buy myself  a new phone. God knows I need a new one. LOL. Anyway, secondly, TAO’s comeback. I know he’s getting a lot of hate because of his leaving EXO which is confusing, and the fact that some hater (I presume) posted a mistranslation of his song, T.A.O. My ultimate bias has always been Tao and I’m hurt when I see people hating on him. I know he’s said some things before about betrayal and that he’s eating his words. Come on. Everybody makes mistakes and change is inevitable. I don’t blame him for changing his mind, tbh. Anyway, I love his mini album. I have Yesterday on loop, actually. And I was listening to it as I edited this chapter. Then, thirdly, can we talk about how Jungkook has grown into a man? Like seriously. He still has that baby face, but damn his body. It’s all angled and muscular. He’s even more muscular than Jimin. OMG. My baby Kookie is a man now. I’m like a proud mom to Tao and Kookie right now. LOL.

Ahh, too bad I wasn’t able to go to any of the TRB concerts. My aunt’s place is like ten minutes away from Rosemont Theater in Chicago. If I was there, I could have gone to see fellow ARMYs and probably got a ticket too. It’s a bummer that I live in the deepest recesses of this earth. Hahaha.

I won’t say anything more. My A/N is longer than the actual chapter now. LOL. So, yeah →  吴愛你們。我愛你們。 ♥♥♥

 

[I died at these. pls forgive me ㅠ.ㅠ]