Six

Grounded in the kitchen, Donghae keeps glancing in the direction of the living-room even when his mother tries to get his attention, which earns him an exasperated sigh he doesn’t hear. His eyes follow the sight of his baby niece who is cradled carefully in the arms of her father, an envious pout pulling the corners of his mouth downwards. He’s itching to walk over and hold her as well, but apparently, he has to help with the cooking and then set the table for lunch. The fact that he’s become a parent a few days ago seems to be meaning that his older brother doesn’t have to take part in that chore anymore.

Donghae thinks it’s unfair.

“Donghae!” a sharp call then tears him out of his contemplation on injustice, before his mother swats him curtly on the back of his head.

Yelping, he looks up and frowns a little. “Oh, yeah—uh…” he clears his throat sheepishly, giving her a winning smile. “Sorry, mom. I love you.”

She gives him a stern look, but the small grin that’s threatening to spread upon betrays her amusement. “I’m sure you do,” she scoffs, though not unkindly. “I know you’re practically in love with Yoonhwa, but do try and at least pretend that you’re listening to me when I’m talking.”

“I am!” Donghae exclaims. “I was… a little.”

“A little is not enough, young man,” she retorts wisely as she goes back to cutting the carrots. “Now, tell me more about your soulmate, will you? What does he look like? Does he seem nice so far?”

Momentarily distracted from his niece by the pleasant thought of his soulmate, Donghae turns to her and smiles excitedly. His hands start to move around messily, which causes fat drops of water to splash around the kitchen floor and on his mother’s apron. Unaware of the mini-disaster he’s creating, he bounces a little on his feet while squealing happily.

“Oh!” he gasps loudly. “He’s really, really nice! His name’s Lee Hyukjae, and he’s an obstetrician, and he works in the hospital near the coffee shop, and he’s just so cute, and—…” He lets out a small, dreamy sigh, before adding, “He’s so hot, mom.”

His mother raises disbelieving eyebrows at him, muttering about not quite understanding how that is relevant to her question, just as Yoojung steps in the kitchen to sit down at the small table. The younger woman still looks a little tired from the labor but is already in a much better condition than a few days ago. She sends them a curious look and glances a last time at her baby, who’s babbling happily at Donghwa, before she focuses her attention fully on Donghae.

“Are you talking about Donghae’s soulmate?” she asks with a smile, picking up a piece of bread and taking a small bite. “He’s the other doctor we met at the hospital, right?”

“Yes!” he exclaims loudly while ignoring the roll of the eyes his mother sends him. “He was so awesome, right? He’s a great doctor, isn’t he?”

His sister-in-law frowns as if she’s considering telling him that Hyukjae technically hasn’t taken care of her at all, as he wasn’t her doctor in the first place, but he’s already speaking again. “His name’s Hyukjae, and he’s an obstetrician, and he works in the hospital near the coffee shop, and he’s very cute and very hot.”

Yoojung laughs, amused, and shares a knowing look with his mother. “Believe it or not,” she comments airily. “I already knew most of that. Though I suppose I was a bit too in pain to realize if he was really hot or not.”

Then, after finishing her piece of bread and making sure she hasn’t left crumbles on the table, she asks him, “How are your thoughts with him, then? Are they strong yet?”

Donghae pauses in his task—not that he has been doing much so far anyway—and thinks for a moment, blushing faintly. Even now, if he takes the time to listen carefully, he can hear the faint humming of Hyukjae’s thoughts resonating in the very back of his mind. But as opposed to the first day he met his soulmate, it seems like the tuneless murmur has earned more notes to it, like it became some sort of a soft, almost imperceptible melody.

“Well, it’s… I think it’s getting a little stronger,” he says softly. “I still can’t hear his thoughts from here but the… humming sounds louder than the first time, you know? Like it’s strengthening.”

“I see,” Yoojung nods pensively. “That’s nice! I’m glad for you, Donghae. That reminds me of the first time I got to share thoughts with Donghwa in high school. He was so noisy.”

The three of them laugh loudly together and in the living-room, Donghwa sends them a suspicious look. Soon enough, the baby whines again for his attention and he forgets all about them once again.

“Why doesn’t this surprise me,” their mother chuckles under her breath while shaking her head fondly. “Both my sons can’t seem to stay quiet for more than five minutes.”

Yoojung snickers and stretches her arms high above her head, sighing. “Since you can hear each other’s thoughts,” she continues then. “Did your soulmate say anything about you? Does he seem to like you?”

“Oh!” Donghae gasps again, blushing even harder. He ducks his head down, trying to hide a smile and failing miserably. “He… he said that I’m cute! And, and that I have a breathtaking smile—he said breathtaking, can you believe it? That’s so sweet of him! And also that I have nice and broad shoulders. He said that I look like I’d give hi