“Soojung,”

Soojung hears the groggy and hoarse voice that was trying to wake her up. But she was too sleepy to even open her eyes. She was dreaming something nice and she doesn’t want it to be ended.   

“Hmmm,” she lets out an inaudible mumble as an answer. She feels the warmth of another body next to her. Out of habit, she curls up and snuggles closer. And it seems like the other body involuntarily just hugs her back. Soojung lets out a small hum in content. She loves hugs.

“Yunho hyung told you to come to the living room,”

For a moment, Soojung tries to comprehend the voice as she feels the arms that not hers wrapping tighter around her body. Yunho hyung? And Soojung just realized by now that the voice is coming from a male. She peeks through an eye, and sees that her brother, Daehyun, is the one who was hugging her. Her eyes automatically opened widely and she shrieks while kicking the other off from her bed.

“What in the world are you doing here!??!?”

Daehyun falls off from the bed and lands on his . He rubs his and looks up at Soojung with hurtful expression. Some girls might find him adorable with disheveled hair and pouty lips like this, but not for Soojung. No way she would find her brother adorable.

“I was sleeping…?”

Soojung squints her eyes, “You didn’t sleep here last night.” She sits up and gets up from the bed, walking towards the mirror to tie her hair. Her face still looks bloated from the sleep and she makes a face at her own reflection. “I swear to god, Daehyun, if you sneak into my bed once again, I’ll tell Yunho oppa.”

“It’s Daehyun oppa,” Daehyun protests. He already crawled back to Soojung’s bed and now hugging her pillow. Half of his face hidden while he watches Soojung from the back. “Your bed is comfy. And you know sometimes Yunho hyung snores too loud. How am I supposed to sleep with him?”

“It’s not my problem,” Soojung sends a glare. “Everybody knows you can’t control your hormones and I don’t wanna take a risk of you groping my s when I sleep.”

“s?” Daehyun frowns, eyes fixing on Soojung’s s. “I’m not interested with non-existence s.”

Soojung widens her eyes and covers her upper body with her arms, feeling violated. She kicks Daehyun’s stomach, earning a painful groan from the older male. She blows a raspberry at him, “Where are unnies?” she asks after she looks around to find her two sisters have gone from their respective beds.

“I told you Yunho hyung told you to come to the living room,” Daehyun answers. He’s still slightly rubbing his stomach. “Everyone’s there.”

Now that he mentioned it, Soojung can hear some noise of people talking downstairs. She glances at the clock in the room, it’s only 9am and it’s Saturday, “Everyone? Is there anything wrong?”

“I don’t know. But I’m pretty sure none of Daeryong nor Soryong hyung did anything wrong,”

“And why are you here?”

“I told Yunho hyung I slept late last night,” Daehyun growls before he turns his back to Soojung, wanting to continue sleeping. “You go, I still want to sleep.”

Soojung sneers, “Stop sleeping with those girls and you’ll be able to properly sleep more, you know.”

“Last night was a guy,”

“Ew. Too much information,” Soojung cringes and mutters with a disgusted face before she struts out the room. “Don’t drool on my pillow!” She warns her brother last time before she slams the door behind her.

Soojung walks through the small hallway of their house, noticing all the rooms are indeed empty which means everyone is really in the living room. But what for? The last time Yunho gathered all his siblings was months ago right after Soryong arrested because driving under influence and Yunho gave a very long rage and speech about it to his 7 siblings.

Yes, seven. Soojung has seven older siblings, two sisters and five brothers. Yunho is the oldest brother and he acts like the head of the family who has the most responsibility of their huge family. It was hard and complicated to have many siblings like this, but Soojung is pretty grateful with her life. Their mother passed away because of a brain cancer when Soojung was only 4—she barely even remember about it—and their father left them to live with another woman. Initially he wanted to bring Soojung and Daehyun, as the two youngest children, but Yunho disagreed. He was beyond furious to know their father has been in affair with another woman and cheated on their mother while she was sick. He didn’t let any of his siblings to be taken care of by their father and the other woman. None of the children wanted to live with them either anyway. They continued their life with the inheritants from their mother also with Yunho, Daeryong and Soryong—the two oldest twins after Yunho—worked part time here and there. Yunho—with the consent of the four oldest siblings—cut their relationship with their father and even decided to legally use their mother surname, Jung. Growing up by Yunho and his hatred towards their father, makes Soojung also hates her father. She doesn’t even care about him anymore. Even living without parents, Soojung was glad to be born in this family though. She’s the maknae and she knows her siblings love her, even sometimes spoiled her so much.

So, again, this kind of event which gathers everyone isn’t a usual thing, and Soojung wonders what happened. When the girl finally walks into the living room, no matter what kind of atmosphere she would encounter, she only expects her siblings—and only her siblings—who were there. She never expected there are three strangers sitting there with them. The tension around the room is like someone just died and Soojung thinks it might be true looking at how the three strangers wearing full black clothes.

Correction. Actually, only two are strangers. One is surprisingly someone she knows from her campus.

Or maybe more than only knows.

 

☞ * * * ☜

 

As soon as her oldest brother welcomed her with an awkward smile, Soojung immediately knew that something indeed was going wrong. And, boom, he dropped it.

“Soojung, this is Taeyeon, Ahyoung and Jongin. They’re children of Kim Youngmin. They’ll be living with us start from tomorrow,”

Soojung had sent a terrible stare of disbelief towards Yunho and he had known that his youngest sister was mad, terribly mad. He looked away from the girl and Soojung had excused herself to go to the kitchen. She needed some air. And some water.

The glass she just drank the water of makes a loud clank against the counter as Soojung puts it down. At least she didn’t drop it. Soojung breathes fast, she inhales and exhales heavily, as if she is actually going to explode anytime soon.

Kim Youngmin.

Soojung had never expected she would hear that name being mentioned again in this house. Everyone hates him. She never expect any of his part of life being mentioned in front of her, but now, Yunho just explained to her that Kim Youngmin’s children are going to live here. Under the same roof with her.

And she doesn’t even want to think about a certain male from the other fammily who looks equally shocked as her when they look at each other.

“He and her wife passed away a week ago in a car accident,” suddenly a deep voice appears behind Soojung and she knows it was Taekwoon. Her other brother, the younger one than the twins, older than Daehyun.

Soojung stays still in front of the counter, facing the window. She can feel Taekwoon silently moves closer to her and eventually leans his back on the counter beside her, facing the opposite direction. Soojung still doesn’t do anything.

“Their will says that they have to live with us,” the older male continues.

Soojung knows who they are in his sentence. She closes her eyes. She needs more patience. She wants to rage but she knows that won’t solve anything. “And Yunho oppa accepts it? Do you think it’s fair for him to raise seven of us here and now he has to take care of three more?”

“At least the girls are already in legal age and even if the boy is still on your age, the eldest make sure that the boy would be her responsibility. Hyung would take no responsibility of them,” Taekwoon shakes his head. Soojung can feel his deep black eyes looking at her from the side but she doesn’t want to look back at him. She knows she’s going to cry if she does.

“Still,” Soojung clenches her fists on the edge of the counter. Her body starts shaking. “Giving them away to us like that, while in fact he dumped us first— What kind of thing he think we are? A place which he can—”

Taekwoon doesn’t reply. But suddenly, Soojung feels a hand on her shoulder and at the next second she is being pulled into her brother’s embrace. Soojung circles her arms around Taekwoon’s waist and buries her face on his chest. It’s too hard to hold anymore. She finally cries, gripping tightly at the back of Taekwoon’s shirt.

“Sssh. Everything’s gonna be okay,” he whispers into her ear, patting her back comfortingly. Normally, Taekwoon barely talks. But even without words, Soojung knows he cares. She cries harder, wetting her older’s brother’s shirt.

 

☞ * * * ☜

 

When Soojung had finally managed her emotion, Taekwoon leads her back into the living room. He plops her down next to Sooyeon—who immediately links their arms together and Soojung leans closer to her sister—while he goes back sitting next to Soryong. The older guy is making an amazingly similar expression like Soojung. He looks pissed, but well, he stays to sit there, glaring at Yunho who looks like he doesn’t want to look at any of his siblings right now. Next to Soryong was Daeryong, who looks pissed too just like his twin, but less care. Yongjoo, Soojung’s older sister yet younger than Sooyeon, sits on his armchair. She looks anxious, Soojung can relate. Yongjoo is always happy, she never likes this kind of tension.

Soojung and Sooyeon sit next to Yunho on the couch. On the opposite couch sits the three strangers. The three siblings. The three other children of Kim Youngmin.

Their half-siblings.

Soojung tries not to stare at three of them because she knows her stare somehow could turn out to be rude, but she can’t help it. Sitting right in front of her, was a boy with black hair and deep eyes with double eyelids. Not just any boy. He’s Kim Jongin. He is in the same year as her in university and is one of the most popular students. Many girls were having big crush on him. And Soojung… Soojung was one of them.

Soojung remembers clearly she met him the first time at the yard. Jongin was wearing a plaid shirt with jeans which perfectly fitted onto his long legs. In a glance, every other girl would agree that Jongin was indeed good looking. But Soojung didn’t come to talk to him, because she had intended to talk with Kim Joonmyun instead, a beautiful and reserved pale skinned boy which was Jongin’s senior in the business major and older by three years. Joonmyun had welcomed her with his blindingly bright smile and Soojung had returned the smile. But the time Joonmyun introduced her to his junior who’s also his good friend, Jongin, Soojung smiled even brighter. Their eyes had met and for some reason Soojung just had to tear her eyes away from the boy because she could felt how her cheeks had been heating. Joonmyun didn’t notice though, he was too busy bragging about his friendship with Jongin to Soojung while the two latter were exchanging the same looks.

Joonmyun was a good friend of Sooyeon and Sooyeon said he had a crush on Soojung since long time ago. Sooyeon had asked Soojung’s opinion about Joonmyun two weeks before and in the span of time Joonmyun had asked Soojung out for some lunch date several times. They got closer and closer and when finally Joonmyun asked her out, Sooyeon looked so happy and excited, feeling accomplished after she did a good matchmaking job. Even if Soojung didn’t exactly return Joonmyun’s feeling, she just didn’t have the heart to break two hearts at once. Sooyeon had give much hope on them.

She’s been dating Joonmyun for almost a year now. She knows Joonmyun’s friends. It’s not unusual to see Soojung hangs out with Joonmyun and his friends. It’s not unusual that Soojung sees Jongin often either because of that. They never actually talk though, even Soojung somehow keeps secretly stealing glances at the boy.

But now after the sudden terrible fact revealed that Jongin is her half-brother, Soojung couldn’t even bring herself to see him.

She had never exactly admitted that she’s attracted with Jongin. But still, this is painful.

Soojung averts her gaze to the girl next to Jongin. She is a brunette with a very baby face and tiny proportions. Soojung almost thinks she’s younger than her if she doesn’t remember Taekwoon had said all of the girls are already legal. But eventhough she looks like a kid, sometimes her eyes are sharp. Soojung observes people quite well, and she thinks that this girl might keep something big inside her babyface and petite figure. Whatever it is.

The last female is also a brunette. Her eyes were beautiful and round. She fiddles with her fingers and sometimes glances around anxiously. There’s nothing much about her except somehow she reminds Soojung of Yongjoo with a much of silly and innocent face.

And reminds her that they’re indeed has the same blood in them. Soojung cringes a bit.

“So,” Yunho starts again. “Everyone’s okay?”

Soojung glances at him and he was looking at her, which lets her know that everyone is actually just her. She glances down and cuddles closer to Sooyeon again—who pats her arm comfortingly—but without saying anything. It’s not like she would object Yunho. She respects him so much and she knows he knows that. She would respect any of his decision for their family. And apparently Yunho also takes that as a yes.

“Well, I’ll help you guys move tomorrow,” Yunho continues. And this time Soojung finally looks at him.

“What?” she interrupts. “Do you have to?” Soojung can feel Taekwoon’s warning glare at her but she doesn’t care. She doesn’t want Yunho to feel even more burdened because of those three.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of all,” the kid-faced girl replies, smiling. Soojung glances at her and it is obvious that she doesn’t feel comfortable either if she lets Yunho help her. “We’ll just arrive here around 12.”

“Ah,” Yunho returns the smile. He looks half-guilty half-confused after Soojung interrupted. “We’ll wait then.”

The kid-faced girl nods before she stands up, “Thank you. We’ll go for now.”

Her other siblings quickly follow. Yunho stands up too, leading them walk towards the front door. None of the Jungs follow Yunho, except for Yongjoo, who was hesitated to stand up but sits back down again realizing her family is still.

“Thank you, oppa,” the second girl, the girl with black hair chimes in to Yunho as they walk pass by him before they gets out the house.

Soojung frowns. She glances at her twin brothers, and they are similarly cringes at the girl’s retort. Soojung inwardly smiles in amusement. Yunho notices his younger siblings’ looks but decides to ignore them. He escorts their guesses out, who wouldn’t be guesses anymore tomorrow.

“Whose oppa she calls for?” Soryong rolls his eyes as soon as the three Kims—four with Yunho—out from the hearing range.

“Um… Don’t you think we should give them a chance?” Yongjoo voices out hesitantly.

Daeryong snorts. He places his hand on Yongjoo’s lap and pats her thigh with a smug expression, “You were only 7 and you were losing your baby teeth when he left and he didn’t even care about it.”

Yongjoo frowns. He’s right and she can’t even argue.

“He’s dead. Don’t talk bad about dead people, hyung,” Taekwoon lightly warns them.

“Yeah, he’s dead and he doesn’t even have good life, even house, to keep his children to stay alive. This house is mom’s, Taekwoon. And we’ve been earning our own money for living since then. How do you think they deserve all of these?” Soryong looks at his younger brother.

 “I didn’t say anything about they deserve it,” Taekwoon replies calmly.

Soryong rolls his eyes again, “Whatever, shut up.”

To shut his mouth is the thing Taekwoon best at. He shrugs and stares blankly on the floor. Soojung knows that Taekwoon doesn’t entirely agree either with the fact that they would have three more people in this house. But he’s always the type to accept whatever it is, like almost apathetic as he is. Soojung curls closer to Sooyeon and Yongjoo decides to join them on the couch.

“So we’re gonna have more roommates, aren’t we?” Yongjoo asks.

Sooyeon merely nods, “Apparently.”

Soojung looks at her oldest sister. She knows that Sooyeon probably has the hardest time right now. She’s been taking the role as a substitute mother in the house for her siblings since she was 9. She was forced to be mature since very young age. Soojung knows she has the same hatred towards their father and everything about him just like their other kids but Sooyeon knows best she’s better to show a neutral face since Yunho already welcomes the three. She has no choice. Soojung squeezes her arm to silently say that she musn’t stress herself out. Sooyeon looks at her and gets the message. She smiles at the maknae and ruffles her bangs lightly.

 

☞ * * * ☜

 

The day seems like one of the worst Sundays in Soojung’s life. Everyone in the house looks like they’re trying to act normal, even if they know better that they are all anxious. There’s obviously nothing like welcoming party for the Kims, but Soojung can still see in the way how Yunho glances every now and then towards the front door, or how Sooyeon walks in and out her bedroom just to look around and does nothing, that it’s quite bothering them.

Soojung had asked Sooyeon what she was doing and Sooyeon had answered that she just felt like making sure the room would be fine for two more people. She mentioned that they should buy a new bunk bed soon. Soojung sighed. The girls’ have the largest bedroom in the house, but it doesn’t mean like it would be comfortable enough for five people to sleep in. They only have one bunk bed for Soojung and Yongjoo and one single bed for Sooyeon.

Not wanting to add the tension in the house, Soojung sighs and tries to relax herself. She slips in between Daeryong and Daehyun on the couch who have been playing a soccer game at the PlayStation since morning. The maknae leans her head on Daeryong’s shoulder as she watches his team scores the first goal.

“Yes!” he exclaims, fist punching into the air before he glances at Soojung while Daehyun groans loudly at his team loss. “Why?” he asks his little sister with a concerning voice, noticing how Soojung looks unusually quieter.

Soojung shrugs, “Just thinking about sharing bedroom with… them. I don’t know what I’m gonna do. “

Daeryong scoffs, “I don’t know either. I’m glad they only have one boy and my room already has three people in it.”

“You know you can come to my bed if you can’t sleep, Soojung-ah,” Daehyun adds before groaning because Daeryong’s player has successfully blocked his player to score a goal again.

Soojung sneers before she kicks Daehyun’s legs and Daeryong laughs at him.

“Your bed would be the last place she would go to,” Daeryong retorts in amused, in behalf of his youngest sister. “You sleep messily.”

The three Kims arrive around half past twelve in the noon. Yunho managed to force Taekwoon and Daehyun to help them with their belongings (after a long argue because initially Yunho asked the twins but they dodged it off by pushing their younger brothers into it and Daehyun scowls because he ended up giving his game to Soryong). The two Kim girls bow multiple times at them while passing the living room with their suitcase. Soojung could see that they’re indeed nervous and awkward.

Who wouldn’t anyway. The Jungs is a big family not to mention pretty solid. Even if they are related by blood, they had never known each other since they were born. It would be slightly hard to blend into them.

Soojung notices her university friend who’s going to live in one house with her soon and stares at him for a while as he walks behind his sisters following them to put their stuffs to their room. Jongin doesn’t look at her though. He seems like the usual shy and timid and cute Jongin and Soojung’s stomach flips a bit.

“I heard he’s on your year at your uni? You know him?” Soryong nudges her and leans in to whisper into her ear. Soojung merely nods, knowing that her brother is talking about their new family member. She feels that her brain doesn’t even have the energy to think about him. It hurts.

“Why don’t you greet each other then?” this time Daeryong asks, glancing at his sister’s gloomy look.

“We don’t know each other that much,” Soojung shrugs. None of them ask for more because they’re too absorbed in the next game and Soojung is somehow relieved.

The house is busy for at least one hour. The Kims finally manage to put all of their stuffs in their respective rooms with the helping of Yunho, Sooyeon, Yongjoo and Taekwoon. The rest of Jungs spend their time in the living room and this time Yunho doesn’t even bother to ask any of them to help. Probably he thinks that he’s already been asking too much from his siblings.

“I’m not the youngest boy anymore,” suddenly Daehyun mumbles. He’s sitting on the floor, leaning back on the couch between Soojung’s legs while they are watching Daeryong and Soryong plays.

“Is that a complain, or?” Soryong raises an eyebrow.

“I’m complaining because I’m no longer the cutest youngest boy here, but,” Daehyun pauses and he smirks. Even people who don’t look at him could hear his evil smirk in his voice. “At least I have a younger brother who would do anything I want.”

Soojung pushes the back of Daehyun’s head with her knuckles, “Don’t do anything stupid.”

Pouting while rubbing the back of his head, Daehyun turns to look at Soojung, “Why do you care?”

Thinking for an answer, her eyes blink twice at the question. Because he’s our sibling? Because I think he’s cute? Because he was my crush? God, no one can know I ever have feelings for Jongin. Even if still have, Soojung thinks.

She still doesn’t know what to answer and she feels so relieved when suddenly Yunho walks into the room announcing that they are going to order chicken for lunch. The long hair brunette Kim is missing and that makes the two Kims—Jongin and the kiddy-like unnie—Sooyeon and Taekwoon walk behind Yunho.

Soojung tries hard to ignore the bright expression Jongin makes when he hears chicken. Soojung tries to not recall how Jongin always be the most excited one when Joonmyun said he’s going to treat his friends chicken.

Some grumbling of protest come from Soryong, Daeryong and Daehyun which mostly consists “We don’t have enough chairs at the dining table” or “I don’t want chicken” but Yunho ignores them. He moves away with his phone to order the food.

Apparently one hour of helping the Kims with their stuff makes things less awkward at least for Sooyeon. Soojung notices how she smiles and touches the kid-like unnie’s arm and quietly says something that Soojung guess is an invitation to join before she comes to sit at the other couch in the living room. The kiddy-like unnie just nods and she gives a question look to Jongin, as if asking him if they should join.

Soojung’s gaze stays on the screen but she silently prays that they would join.

“When will you stop playing that stupid games, for god sake, you’re 24,” Sooyeon complains as soon as Daeryong curses aloud when Soryong’s team scored a goal.

“Please. You’re talking like you’re 36, Sooyeon-ah,” Soryong replies in between his victory laugh. “Anyway, this is hard you know. This game is not for a three-year-old kid—”

But Soryong didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence when suddenly two shrieking girls rush into the living room and practically shoves Daehyun away as they sit down violently on the floor.

“OPPA, STOP PLAYING! IT’S INFINITE COMEBACK STAGE NOW,” Yongjoo announces and somehow she manages to get the remote control and switches the screen to the music shows channel. The previously missing second Kim girl is on her side, equally excited as the Jung girl. And Soojung just realized by now that Yongjoo had been missing too.

“What the fu—”

“Yongjoo, I only need to win for one more time and Daeryong will give me 50000 won!”

Soojung shrinks between the twins as they struggle to get back the remote from Yongjoo but the latter is way faster.

“No way. It’s Infinite’s comeback,” she glares at the twins.

“YONGJOO UNNIE, IT’S THEM!” the Kim girl shakes Yongjoo’s arm and squeals loudly when a seven members idol boy group appears on the screen. Yongjoo automatically shrieks with her and they spazz violently, smashing cushions and flailing their limbs.

“Whoa, whoa, calm down there,” Daehyun scoots away from the girls with widen eyes in shock.

“OH MY GOD, THEY ARE SO HANDSOME,”

“YES, REALLY, OH MY GOD, DID YOU SEE MYUNGSOO JUST WINKED?”

“I SAW. AND SUNGGYU WITH THAT WHITE OUTFITS, UNNIE, OH MY GOD,”

Another shrieked when the boys smiles brightly at the camera and the living room is just so chaotic because of the two girls. Their shriek somehow turns to cry and somehow turns to a frustrated groan. Daeryong and Soryong cross arms in annoyed in a very similar pose besides Soojung and Daehyun had managed to crawl out the living room, probably escape to the kitchen.

“Ahyoung,” the oldest Kim girl suddenly warns in a dangerous tone from the other couch. Soojung glances at her—almost had a heart attack because she meets with Jongin’s eyes for a second and she doesn’t even know since when they both had sit there next to Sooyeon—and notices that the girl is frowning.

“Unnie,” the second Kim, Ahyoung, turns to her unnie, whines and flails. “Unnie, but Sunggyu oppa is so handsome!”

The oldest Kim is still frowning. Soojung finds it strange at how she exaggeratedly frown at the idol group, “Just stop.”

And it seems like the oldest Kim’s words are law for the Kims, just like how Yunho’s words are law for the Jungs, because Ahyoung is pouting now while watching the rest of the idol performance but at least she stops screaming and spazzing. Soojung chuckles inwardly. She finds it quite interesting.

“Can someone help me get the chicken when it arrives?” Yunho suddenly appears again in the living room. “I need to go out for a while.”

Soojung hasn’t do anything for her oldest brother so far today and she somehow feels guilty about it, so she raises her hand and she doesn’t expect that the oldest Kim does the same at the same time, “I will.”

They look at each other and the other gives a soft chuckle that makes Soojung eventually chuckles too.

“Oh, Taeyeon. Alright,” Yunho smiles at her. He walks around to Soojung and gives the maknae some money. “Soojung will pay for our part.”

Taeyeon smiles and nods, “Okay.”

“Where are you going?” Soojung looks up at Yunho as he hands her the money.

“I’ll be back soon,” he grins, ruffling Soojung’s hair a little before he walks out from the house.

“He’s dating, isn’t he?” Soryong whispers to Soojung right after.

“What? With who?”

He shrugs, “I listen to him calling someone and says ‘good night’, ‘I love you’ and such things everynight. He keeps it low though, like he doesn’t want us to hear.”

“I hear him too, though,” Daeryong adds. The three of them completely ignores Yongjoo and Ahyoung’s spazz now.

Soojung frowns, “But why doesn’t he introduce her to us? Didn’t we promise to introduce who are we dating to the family?”

“We all did. And yeah, that’s what I’ve been thinking about,” Soryong nods. He purses his lips, looking serious.

“Maybe he needs to hide his girlfriend. Maybe he’s dating a celebrity—” Daeryong trails off.

“—or a terrorist—”

“—or a wanted prisoner—”

“—or maybe even a spy? You know, so his girlfriend is like ‘I don’t want to harm your family so please let me be in my disguise and hide for a while’—”

Soojung continuously looks at both of her brothers on her sides before she shoves them and rolls her eyes, “Oh my god, oppa, please. It’s none of our rights to force him to introduce his girlfriend though. He will when he wants.”

Daeryong slowly nods in agree, “But… I’m curious.”

“It’s just not fair at how he knows my love life yet I don’t know anything about him,” Soryong pouts.

“Who wouldn’t know your love life if you still keep Yoona’s picture on your bedside anyway,” Daeryong scoffs, which quickly earn a hard smack from his twin.

Soojung stifles a laugh and looks at Soryong, “You do?”

Soryong sighs deeply and gives out a bitter smile. Suddenly Soojung feels bad for him. He only shrugs which makes the girl feels even worse. Soojung knows that Yoona left a big impact for him, but she doesn’t know if it’s that big. Daeryong notices how his twin’s expression changes so suddenly and he immediately changes the topic into how they should continue their interrupted games and how Soryong will be the one who pay him for 50000 won. Soojung just laughs in between.

“Oh it must be the chicken!” Taeyeon says when the door bell rang about 20 minutes later.

Soojung jumps up from her seat and goes to the door, “I’ll get it!”

She was sorting the money to give to the delivery boy when she feels someone behind her and she expects it to be Taeyeon, since the girl had offered herself when Yunho asked earlier. But when a strong arm takes away the bags from the delivery boy, Soojung almost gasps.

She turns around and finds Jongin is smiling at her.

“Hey,” he says.

“H-hey,” Soojung turns away again to pay for the chicken. She focuses herself in watching the delivery boy counts the money and she waits until the he excuses himself. She completely doesn’t want to acknowledge Jongin’s present which somehow feels really close behind her that she could smell his cologne. She tries to completely ignore her sudden unsteady heartbeat.

“Uh… How much is it? Noona says she would pay for our portion,” Jongin asks after Soojung closes the door when the delivery boy had gone. He sounds awkward.

“U-uh,” Soojung stutters as she looks at the bill she was holding. If Jongin sounds awkward, Soojung sounds more than awkward. Most like she is nervous. “This is the bill. I guess your part is just about 1/3 of all?”

Jongin takes the bill from Soojung’s hand and their fingers are briefly touched. Soojung tries so hard not to flinch. She silently watches the boy scans the bill and nods, “That’s right. Here’s the money then.”

Soojung wants to refuse the money when Jongin shoves it to her hand. She was about to say about how they should just share, and that now they’re family, but somehow the word ‘family’ still hurts her so she stays silent. Jongin softly smiles at her again for the last time before he goes back inside and walks to the kitchen.

The people in the living room shouts happily as they see the food and Sooyeon gets up from her seat to follow Jongin to the kitchen and prepares the lunch. Soojung is torn between casually back to sit in between the twins or to follow her sister to the kitchen. She decides the latter though. No, it isn’t because she wants to be close with Jongin. Definitely no.

“Whoa, is it arrives already?” Daehyun who was sitting in the dining table, eating some cakes ever since the previous fangirl chaos in the living room, lights up brightly when he sees the chicken.

“You’ve been eating the whole cake and you still hungry? Pig,” Sooyeon snaps his hand when Daehyun tries to snatch away a piece of chicken right from the box.

Daehyun pouts, “It was only leftover cake. And yes, I haven’t had my lunch! Cake wasn’t a lunch.”

Jongin stands beside Sooyeon, helping her with the plates and chuckles quietly at Daehyun’s retort.

“Hey, hey. You! Don’t laugh. Give this hyung chicken,” Daehyun glares at Jongin who’s immediately shrinks on his spot.

“Daehyun!” Soojung snaps as soon as she notices Jongin is intimidated by Daehyun. She glares harder at his brother. “I told you not to do that! Besides, you really ate too much.”

“So I can’t eat more?”

“No,” Soojung answers and sticks out her tongue to him. She throws a napkin to his face. “Look at yourself, you eat so messily.”

Daehyun grumbles but he doesn’t protest because Sooyeon is now the one who’s glaring at him. And when Sooyeon glares, you would die. “Tell the others the lunch is ready. And the kitchen is small. We might have to split to the living room team and the kitchen team,” she says to Daehyun.

“Kay,” he mumbles before stands up and walks up to the living room, announcing exactly like Sooyeon asked him to.

When finally all the people in the house get their meals, it’s only Sooyeon, Taeyeon, Soojung and Jongin who’s in the kitchen. Soojung is happy because he particularly decided to stay in the kitchen and hoped Jongin would stay too. And he did.

“I really didn’t know that Ahyoung is an Infinite’s fangirl too,” Sooyeon says, looking at Taeyeon beside her, both are chewing on their chickens. “What do we do now we have two fangirls in the house.”

“She’s helpless,” Taeyeon adds. She laughs a bit. “Her old room has Infinite poster all over the room. I don’t even want to come to her room.”

Sooyeon cringes, “Yongjoo would do the same if she has a room for herself to be honest. But since we’re sharing a room, Soojung and I really opposed her.”

Soojung eats her lunch, silently grinning at the memories when Yongjoo pasted a huge Infinite poster in their room not long after she went to their debut showcase and Sooyeon had shrieked awfully at the sight of their wall covered with seven boys wearing colorful collared shirt and ridiculous shades.

“Glad that Ahyoung wouldn’t do that either here,” Taeyeon says, grinning. “But anyway, it’s good to see we’re getting pretty well. I bet Jongin and Soojung will get along well too since they’re in the same year.”

For the first time since he’s been busy eating and concentrating on his favorite chicken, Jongin makes a sound and it sounds so much like a choke. Soojung, who happens to sit beside him, naturally gives him a glass of water and he drinks it slowly after sending a grateful look toward her.

“Really?” Sooyeon’s eyes widens. She looks at her younger sister before glances at her paternal younger brother. “You know each other?”

“Uhm, yeah,” Soojung suddenly loses her appetite. “Jongin is… Joonmyun’s friend, unnie.”

“Really??” Sooyeon’s voice raised even higher than before and she smiles wider. “Ah, maybe that’s why I think I’ve seen him several times! Joonmyun is my friend too.”

Jongin forces a smile. Soojung glances at him and she knows he’s forcing it because it doesn’t reach his eyes, “Yes. Joonmyun is my senior actually.”

Sooyeon beams and sighs in relief, “I thought it would be hard for us, really. But maybe it wouldn’t be that hard.”

Taeyeon smiles at the girl beside her and pats her shoulder. “I know how you feel,” she says softly. “Don’t worry it would get better.”

They might be sharing the same worries as the oldest girl in the family, Sooyeon might be acting like everything is fine and welcomes the Kims because if she doesn't, who does?  Soojung thinks. But does she really know what their father did to us? Does she really know why we couldn’t just gladly accept their existence?

Soojung notices Sooyeon’s expression a bit stiffened probably is thinking the same thing as Soojung, but she still smiles nevertheless. Sooyeon knows that she couldn’t do anything better than just accept the fact.

Soojung slowly continues to eat her lunch. Her mind is clouded with so many things again. If the problem is just about to accept the fact that they have to live with their paternal siblings, with the kids that gets their father’s attention while they were all struggling to live by themselves, Soojung might slowly learn to get used to it. But it’s not just about it. She couldn’t get used to it with another thing that is bothering her. She couldn’t get used to it when her stomach does a small flip inside everytime she meets her paternal brother’s eyes.

Because this was so wrong and Soojung would never get used to it.

Soojung tries to not steal another glance at Jongin and focuses on her lunch. Everything would get better. It has to.