“Who is Lee Kina?” A young teenage girl asked her friend as they ate their lunch in the school cafeteria. “She is my partner for the project.” The friend shrugs her shoulders. “You know that girl who sits in front of me? That friend of Jennie.” “Craaappp! No man…” The girl cried in annoyance. “That girl is so stuck up she doesn’t even talk to any of us.” “I mean she is okay…” Her friend replies drinking her soup. “She is not like… that bad. But you got to talk to her first.” “I am yet to see her talk to anyone except Jennie no wonder we don’t even know her name… And we’ve been classmates for a year already.” “That is what I thought too but she is not that bad I promise. She’s just awkward. That haughty image is probably just a front.” “She is such a country bumpkin though… I don’t understand why Jennie is even friends with her.” “No kidding…” Her friend laughs softly agreeing with rapid nods. “Have you heard her talk? She talks like an old woman.” “Last year during our sports week since Jennie was absent the whole time, she sat all alone for the entire week. Couldn’t she just be absent as well?” “Probably stayed for the grades. They grade us for attendance remember?” “True… She was such a sore thumb though.” "Yeah. Let us hope we get along for the project at least."  

 

 

Wine

 

 

“Merry Christmas!” Sehun watched quietly with Kina as his parents greeted her parents who had just turned up, an hour late to their schedule. The 2 sets of grandparents were all inside already.

Kina shifted uncomfortably besides him and he felt like giving her a hug. It was not her fault.

“You must pardon us. Something huge came up.” Her father says giving a pointed look at his wife as he said that.

Sehun looked at his own wife who was rolling her eyes. From what he noticed so far, she has quite a normal relationship with her parents and they mostly talked on the phone but it sounds more like a necessity rather than serious concern. Other than updating each other with how they are, how she had scored or how her parents’ work are… nothing else followed. The same was with Kina and her paternal grandparents. She hardly look close with them.

“No problem at all. Kina and Sehun came by early so we are having a field day catching up with each other,” His mother calls out cheerily, gesturing to the younger couple who stood like they wanted to be anywhere else but there.

“Let’s go inside and sit by the fire. The older ones are all there. It is chilly out.” The hostess ushers them all in while the couple who had just arrived bickered all the way in. Sehun keeps glancing at the youngest member who had a straight face. It frightened him for no reason.

“Oh. Your brother has not yet arrived?” Mrs. Lee, Kina’s mother asked him once they had all come inside and greeted the older members. Sehun’s grandma was seated by the fire with a huge mug of steaming chocolate. She was not well. The other three were better with the two grandpa reminiscing over the past and the other grandma strolled around the house.

Sehun had been anticipating his brother’s family for some time now. He was looking forward to meeting his brother after what seemed like a crazy stretch of time. Except for one summer afternoon during a company dinner, he had not seen his brother or his family at all and he was missing them. A lot.

Sekwon had been married for 7 years now with 2 kids and the third one on the way. Sehun was excited.

“They said will be late.” He tells them as he takes his seat on the couch right next to Kina.

“The children will be here, won’t they?” Kina suddenly seem to move, glancing up at him for answer. It made his heart throb.

Kina had not yet met with the entire family. Except for Sekwon and his wife who had come for their wedding and left really early, Kina had not seen the kids.

“They will all be here.” He informs, his lips turning up into a smile. He was glad to see Kina looking excited probably the first time since she arrived. She’d been trying to sound cheery and bubbly and honestly, if he hadn’t been with her these months he would have thought all of those was real but knowing her now, she had been faking everything. It wasn’t like she did not like his family but when they begin all those personal questions and judging her based on the answers she gives, that was when she begins to shut off her real self.

She was only a young girl, Sehun frowns and as such a time, she needed to find herself, be unapologetic about herself and yet here she was given the responsibility of a family whether she liked it or not. But at least, Sehun thinks that he could be of help to her and not a pressure like everyone else around her.

A string of screams and laughter and shouts outside signalled the arrival of the awaited family. This seem to suddenly put everyone at ease when real smiles broke out of everyone’s face and they all stood up to meet the children.

Sehun laughs lightly as the two children, a 5 year old boy and a 3 year old girl comes rushing in screaming out ‘grandpa and grandma and uncle’.

The children however looked surprised to see the new faces and rushes back to hide behind their parents who had just walked in looking exhausted especially his sister-in-law who was heavily pregnant.

“My puppies!” His mother exclaimed going forward to embrace the two shy kids. “Don’t be shy. These are your family!”

The two children look at the new faces and blinks innocently before retreating back to their parents.

“They’re adorable,” She whispers to him looking at the two fondly.

“They are,” Sehun nods his head as he watched them too. “Let them take some time to get use to you. They are friendly but shy at first.”

She gives a little giggle and nods her head.

 

* * *

 

The Christmas dinner was a blast. The food was incredibly delicious and their wine was apparently a hit amongst them. She was finally a little relaxed now that everyone’s attention shifted from the children to food to wine and back to the children and to the stories that the old grandparents tell them.

Sehun’s ailing grandma had tucked in but the other three were still spry.

“It is late already,” Oh Sekwon, Sehun’s older brother announces regretfully looking at the giant grandfather clock in their dining room. The little princess was already nodding off in her seat while still chewing her food. It was an adorable sight.

Kina had brought her a tiara and she’d been ecstatic. Since then the little girl has had a change of heart and had been all over her refusing to let go of both Kina and the tiara for even a second. The boy was another story. He was a mischievous little boy but refused to even come near her. Kina was not the type to fawn over things or people and she just couldn’t push herself to seek his love and attention although she wants it.

However, Kina could only assume he was shy. The child kept on lingering near her but never come to her so after a hundred tries, she had given up. And by tries she meant calling his name and awkwardly smiling at him.

Sehun was a pro at handling children it seemed. They, of course knew him from the beginning which was a bonus but by the looks of it, they loved him dearly. Climbing all over him, he played with them and handled them when they were bored… It surprised Kina. She needed to learn a lot from him.

Kina liked children no doubt but like if they are a good 5 metres away from her where she could admire their cuteness but not deal with them.

“Jongin’s great with kids,” Sehun had shrugged, “I learnt it from him and got a hands on training baby-sitting them. You will get better with ti