09.

there’s no us

 

 

By the time mid-terms ended, I was ready to sleep through the weekend, but my mother woke me up, bright and early on Saturday morning to help her with her plants.

 

I was "done with exams" so I should be out in the garden with her, soaking up as much of the early-winter sun as we could. It was getting really chilly out, especially in the mornings, so I slipped my thickest parka on over my pyjamas.

 

Mom was hydrating her red bell peppers with a small spray bottle when I crept up behind her. I swear she had spidey senses, because she called me out before I could even attempt to shock her with a small 'boo!'

 

She handed the spray bottle to me and pointed at the other two trees of peppers. They were wholly red and almost ready for harvest.

"Spray the rest of these. Careful don't burn your fingers on the heating pad."

 

"Good morning to you too, mother dear." I answered with a yawn. I got to work immediately, spreading my fingers over the warm soil. It was a bit damp. Mom's very expensive heating pad kept her precious bell peppers warm and alive during the cold seasons, because those pesky things perished so quickly in cold weather, so we stopped growing them during winter. This would probably be the last batch before next year.

 

"So what happened between you siblings and Yeonjun?" She asked all of a sudden, making me jump a little.

"Pardon?"

 

"Did you two fight with him? Why hasn't he been coming over?"

 

"Mom, we had mid-terms..."

 

"I know, but Soobin and Yeonjun would always study together when they were younger." Mom sighed. I stole a glance at her, but she had her back turned to me as she bent over to fuss over her coriander plants. I chuckled.

 

"Do you miss Yeonjun, mom?"

 

She didn't reply, but I knew she did. Otherwise she wouldn't have asked.

 

"Speaking of mid-terms, I got a B for maths, by the way."

 

She didn't respond to that either, because I knew she wanted an A. Even with Mr Hong's grade booster, I was still a fraction away from an A grade. He was proud of me nonetheless, and I was proud of myself too.

 

"This means I can go to the Hwangs' party in December, right?"

 

At that, mom turned around and our eyes met briefly. She disregarded my question and instead pointed at the bell pepper i was spraying and tutted.

"Spray that evenly and take your fingers out of the soil, I re-added a fertiliser just now."

 

I grimaced and did exactly as told, giving my soil-covered hand a few sprays for good measure.

 

"Anyway, mom." I cleared my throat. "I got one of the top marks in the class! Second highest, actually."

 

"Who got the top mark, then?"

 

"...Kai did."

 

She turned around again, this time focusing on me entirely.

 

 

"What did he get?"

 

 

"...A."

 

 

 

She sighed.

"If Kai could get an A, why couldn't you?"

 

"Mom, it's just mid-terms, and it's maths! I'm terrible at maths, you know it."

 

She sighed and nodded. "I seriously wonder whose dreamer genes you inherited."

 

I laughed at that. Both mom and dad were Mathematics and Business Engineering majors back in their day. Mom graduated with an engineering degree and worked with a start-up company for a few years before she had Soobin, her first child. Dad was a maths nerd and he was still a maths nerd. He was a maths professor at his alma mater.

 

Soobin was a man of science just like my parents are. But as for me, I wasn't sure what I was at all. I wasn't that skilled in the arts, nor did I excell in the sciences. In their eyes, I drifted around all day. I was a dreamer who made up all sorts of scenarios in her head all day long. Someone who romanticised everything.

 

Mom and I continued to fuss about her plants for a bit longer before she let me go back inside to curl up beside the heater. I ran in as fast as I could.

 

Don't get me wrong, I do love my mom and her gardening hobby was something I was pretty supportive of. But in all honesty, Soobin had more of a green thumb than I did. If he weren't so busy with university applications, he would be the one helping mom with the plants, and I would be cocooned safely in bed until the sun outside bites at my bum.

 

My brother came downstairs for breakfast as I was making coffee for mom, and heating up a store-bought muffin for myself. His eyes were glued on his phone and there was this idiotic smile on his face. While I was trying to guess if it was Yeji or Yeonjun he was texting, he had reached over me and picked up mom's coffee.

 

"Wait, that's for..."

 

Soobin took a sip and made a face. He hated coffee. He didn't like tea either. He was just like my dad; the men in our family only drank water and occasionally, hot chocolate.

 

"... That's for mom and now it's ruined, you idiot."

 

His face was still contorted in a grimace while he quickly poured himself a cup of water. He had placed his phone down on the kitchen table in front of me. I looked down at his screen, expecting to see Yeji's name on the screen... but no, it was just his brosband, his soulmate, his one and only, Choi Yeonjun.

 

I didn't even have time to respond because mom was walking into the kitchen now, the tip of her tall nose slightly red from the cold, her sleeves rolled up and she was headed straight for the sink to wash her dusty hands.

 

"Mom..." I whined and brought her coffee to her. Soobin ruined the wonky heart I tried to draw for my mom with his small but mighty sip. She laughed and took the warm mug into her cold hands.

 

"It's alright, thank you Soojin." she reached over gave my head a small pat. She loved to pat our heads. Soobin and I would only let our mom pat our heads.

 

"But mom, Soobin just..."

 

"It's alright." she gave Soobin's hair a ruffle too, and he beamed innocently, his cheeks full of water. "It's just Soobin, right? Don't be silly, I'm not worried about my own son's lips."

 

Soobin beamed that cheesy cute smile of his again, making our mother grin even wider. I shivered with distaste.

 

"Oh," Mom uttered to Soobin. "How is Yeonjun? Is everything okay between you kids?"

 

"Mom's been asking me about Yeonjun oppa all morning," I explained to my brother, who looked just as confused as I was earlier. "She thinks we upset him because he hadn't been coming over anymore."

 

"He's alright." Soobin answered, "We're alright. Do we want him to come over?"

 

 

"Well he doesn't have to." I answered. I was looking down, rearranging the fruit platter as I waited for a response. When I didn't get one, I looked up, and the two of them were grinning and avoiding my eyes.

 

Before I could grasp the situation, I felt a pair of hands squeeze my sides. I almost jumped out of my skin! Mom and Soobin finally doubled over in laughter, and a familiar, annoying face appeared from behind me.

 

"He doesn't have to? Is that a no?"

 

"I swear, Choi Yeonjun..."

 

"Hey, it's oppa, isn't it?" he tapped my nose and gave me a wink.

 

"Goodbye, I'm going to find Hueningkai."

 

I turned around but Yeonjun reached for my arm, cackling obnoxiously. My mother and Soobin were still laughing.

 

"Stay, Soojin." he whined a little. "I'm on my way out anyway, I saw the back door open so I thought I would just pop by and say hi."

 

"Oh, you're not in a rush, are you? Won't you stay for a bit?" Mom piped up, but Yeonjun wasn't letting go of my arm, and my face was still hot with embarassment.

 

"Yeah, where are you heading?" Soobin asked too. "Who's this 'friend'?"

 

He was obviously referring to the conversation they were having on Kakao before Soobin walked in and messed up the coffee I didn't make for him.

 

Yeonjun shrugged it off, saying it was someone from grade school Soobin probably didn't remember. Soobin didn't pry. It was never like him to pry anyway.

 

"Would I know who this friend of yours is?"

 

Yeonjun turned to me and our eyes met. I adverted my gaze quickly, but not before seeing a mischevious glimmer in his eyes.

 

"Yeah actually, you would."

 

Mom was ruffling around in the cupboard, looking for Soobin and I's prized snack collection when I heard her chuckle with amusement.

 

"Soobin wouldn't remember your grade school classmate, but Soojin would?"

 

At that, I turned to look at Yeonjun, only to find that he was already looking at me.

 

There it was. That smirk of his when he's up to something, when he's about to pull something no one would see coming, something I would never expect.

 

And I was so quite right, because I never expected Yeonjun would let me tag along to go that friend's house with him, and I never expected for that friend to open the door and immediately recognise me just like how I immediately recognised her.

 

 

Jisu.

 

 

 

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wosung
there's a new chapter coming soon....

Comments

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cafehyun
#1
💗💗
cafehyun
#2
💗💗💗
Ashley0007 #3
Please update soon! I’m dying to know their relationships! This story is so interesting! :)
satorules
#4
Chapter 7: I personally love long chapters unless you've intended to leave a cliff hanger but honestly every chapter you've written has been very good at keeping me on my toes!
satorules
#5
Chapter 6: hecc ive been waiting for this update but this story is so intriguing to the point that you're still trying to gasp each character esp lia and yeonjun's relation to one another all while trying to understand soojin too