Chapter 9
Jo Twins' Secret Family-- Geum Min
Yoo Min and I are now at the mall, looking around for a decent place to eat lunch. Our shopping mall is reasonably big, with an adequate number of boutiques. There's a supermarket on the first floor, and we often come here to get anything we can't normally get in the roadside shops we have nearer to our house. It's also close to the studio, so after training we normally come here to hang out.
"Yah, why do you keep walking away from me?" a deeper voice asks from behing us. "Don't you love me anymore?"
I turn to see Jeong Min from Boyfriend, also Yoo Min's new boyfriend, pouting at her. Her cheeks promptly turn red, and she casts a shy glance at everyone gathered around us before shaking her head almost imperceptibly. He grins in return and grabs her hand, leading her in front of the group that is now gathered around me and staring at them in shock. They continue chatting like a couple that has been going out for ages rather than just a few days.
Young Min waves a hand in front of my face. "Aren't you hungry? Let's go eat!"
"Only you would think about food at a time like this," Min Woo teases, laughing. He grins at me, and I smile widely back.
The whole of Boyfriend - sans Jeong Min, who is walking ahead with my sister - is there with me right now. We start talking and laughing like we usually do as we walk over to the food court where we normally eat after training. Yoo Min and Jeong Min have already found seats for us all, and Jeong Min pushes my twin down onto a chair before sauntering off, probably to buy them both some food. He normally does that for her, but this time I see her cheeks turn red as she watches him go. Love changes people, I guess.
Min Woo suddenly grabs my hand and tugs me onward with an insistent look. I send him a questioning one in return, until I realise that I'd gone into a daze and the rest of Boyfriend have already split off to go buy food. My steps quicken as Min Woo drags me after him to the ramen stall.
"They have this new kind of ramen dish that I want to try!" he says, pushing me in front of him in the queue. "Why don't you get the same one?"
"Okay," I nod enthusiastically. We slowly move to the front of the queue.
"Ahjumma, I'd like two bowls of this ramen please," Min Woo says with confidence, pointing at the advertisement on top of the counter which is promoting their new ramen dish.
The old lady nods with a smile and calls out the order to the cooks in the back, who I see are swiftly working in unison to get the multitude of orders done on time. She turns back to look kindly back at us.
"You know, both of you make an adorable couple," she gushes unexpectedly. I feel my cheeks flame red.
Min Woo looks up from beside me, his ears reddening as well. But he smiles anyway. "That's what I tell her all the time," he remarks without missing a beat.
"Yah, you never say that," I protest, hitting him lightly on the arm. We're almost about to start teasing each other when the lady laughs and we remember that she's watching us.
"A really adorable couple," she repeats, grinning at us while handing us the two bowls of ramen that we ordered. Min Woo pays the money, takes the tray of ramen off the table, and turns around quickly to hide his tomato-red face.
We walk back to our table awkwardly, avoiding each other's gaze. But when we sit down and start eating, we quickly forget the tension and start chatting as we normally do. Yoo Min and Jeong Min are at the ends of the table, murmuring quietly to each other. The four boys beside Min Woo and I are sharing jokes - they're currently laughing at the punch line of one of the jokes. I don't really understand how they can laugh and eat at the same time without choking, but I guess it's a talent.
"Yah," Min Woo interrupts my thoughts. "Stop staring into space and eat already!"
I pout. "Why are you pressuring me?"
"Because you eat the slowest."
"If you pressure me, I'll eat slower."
"Okay," he replies. "Now eat faster."
Grumbling, I do as he says and concentrate on my food. As usual, I'm still the last to finish, and the others traipse off to get dessert as well while I'm sitting alone at the table with my almost-finished bowl of ramen. I eat faster now that they're not here, because I feel a little awkward when I have nobody to eat with. I feel sort of like a loner, so I hurry and shovel mouthfuls into my mouth, chewing as fast as I can. By the time I'm done, the rest of them are back holding cones of ice cream. Yoo Min's got a stick of rainbow ice cream though, different from the others'. It's our favourite.
"Here's yours," Min Woo says, popping up in front of me and handing me an unopened packet of rainbow ice cream. I thank him and tear it open, contentedly it. He sits down opposite me as my brothers find their seats beside us, Dong Hyun and Hyun Seong beside them, and the lovesick couple next to them at the end - just like we sat before.
We just continue chatting for a while more as we finish our respective ice creams, and before we know it we're done, and it's time for the band to return to their training. They've shifted their comeback forward a month, so they have to put in more rigorous hours of training for it. I'm glad that they're getting more successful, but it breaks my heart to think that I might not get to see much of them anymore. My brothers will probably exhaust themselves at training and return home extremely late - that's if they return at all. They'd often just go to their dorm, and then I'll never get to see them except at lunch in school. It's a bittersweet feeling, so I choose to ignore it and focus on having fun in the present.
Anyway, we soon part ways, and Yoo Min and I head home to get changed before afternoon training while Boyfriend heads the other way for their own training right now. We'll probably see them later.
Yoo Min and I latch onto both of Young Min's arms, and we ignore the look he gives us. Instead, we bat our eyelashes at him and widen our eyes, giving him pleading looks. Yoo Min pouts too, to add effect. It's been ages since he's seen the pair of us (since they went for training an hour or two ago), but still he groans at the sight of us. What a way to greet your beloved sisters.
"What do you want me to do for you?" he asks, giving in before we even say anything.
My twin and I slap palms behind his back. We both know that both of Youngkwang can never resist our puppy-dog eyes, and we exploit this trait in them. But this time, it's for Young Min's own good that he listens to us - I mean, his future love, Yoona, is waiting, right?
"Come with us to the mall, please?" Yoo Min begs him, tugging his arm.
"What, you don't want me to come with you?" Kwang Min appears out of nowhere, a hurt expression on his face.
I poke him, and he bursts out laughing. "Seriously, though," he says, "I'll take you, you don't have to beg this person to do it."
Young Min's face brightens, and I stamp on Kwang Min's foot. Hard. The guy can be so oblivious sometimes. He grimaces and looks over his twin's shoulder at me, and I make faces at him, adding flustered hand signals as well. Yoo Min edges over to me and starts mouthing 'Yoona' and gesturing towards Young Min. Eventually Kwang Min's eyes widen and his mouth forms an 'O', and he nods, understanding. I feel like slapping a hand over my face - Young Min is looking between my brother and I, looking thoughtful. Kwang Min's cluelessness probably almost gave the game away.
"Actually, I think I'll leave you to Young Min - I'm off, bye!" and he turns abruptly and stalks off.
Yoo Min and I try and hold in our laughter at Young Min's crestfallen expression. My phone beeps, and I see that Kwang Min has asked me to tell him everything about Young Min's meeting with Yoona.
"I'm going to get him when I get home," Young Min tells us, glaring after the retreating figure of his twin. Then he turns to us. "So, where in the mall are we going?"
"Come on," I say, pulling him towards the front doors of the mall. "We're going to the cheap little jewelry store on the top floor - I saw something I wanted in there this morning."
He stops, giving me the evil eye, and I have to pull him hard to get him to move again. "You know how much I hate being anywhere near to stores like that," he mutters.
"It's not like you're going in it, you know," Yoo Min tells him, grinning at me when he's not looking.
"Imagine if someone sees me there! My image will be ruined forever!"
I roll my eyes at him and both my sister and I tug harder so that he's forced to quicken his pace towards the shop. Yoona might already be there and waiting. We enter the mall and are hit by a blast of warm air - the mall has central heating because it's fast approaching winter and it's getting cold out. It's quite crowded right now, because it's dinner time and most people have just got off work. My brother pulls his cap lower over his brightly coloured hair, and he forces us to walk near the walls so that there's less chance of random people recognising us.
It probably won't happen, at least not in this mall, but Young Min wants to make sure that nobody sees him at the jewelry store. I find it funny, because no matter how much he tries not to get noticed, Yoona will still find him next to the jewelry store. Yoo Min catches my eye, and from the mischievous glint in hers, I can tell she's thinking along the same lines. This will be so fun to watch.
The three of us come into sight of the shop, and it's not too crowded. The area in front of the shop is empty. So Yoona isn't here yet, but we can delay in the shop if we need to. We leave Young Min grumbling at the spot right in front of the shop, and we walk in, hiding behind a shelf where we can pretend to be looking at things while we're actually looking through the gap between the things to watch our brother. He's clueless though, since only his back is facing the shop.
After a few minutes, he turns around and directs a glare into the shop, but we pretend to still be debating over which earrings to buy. I see him start muttering to himself when he turns around again. A girl wearing a hat bumps into me by accident, and I see her go to the counter to pay for a bracelet before she walks out.
"Where could Yoona be?" Yoo Min whispers to me, raising an eyebrow.
I shrug, hoping she'll turn up soon. I don't know how much longer we can delay in the shop. Just then, the girl who bumped into me earlier catches my eye. She's walked up to Young Min, and now her hand is reaching out tentatively to tap his shoulder. He can't see her yet, because he's too busy staring resolutely somewhere else. The corridor is lined with shops on one side, and the other is a balcony with glass to prevent people from leaning over and plummeting down. Young Min is leaning on the railing and looking down, probably at the games store a level down.
An instant before her hand touches his shoulder, he turns around to glance back at us, and he knocks into her hand. She loses her balance, dropping her bag, and falls onto his shoulder - I grimace, because he has a bony shoulder - and he looks shocked. Not to mention awkward. A deep shade of magenta spreads over his face, and Yoo Min and I burst out into a fit of giggles, making the nearest customer stare at us in shock. She starts to edge away, and I would feel embarrassed, if Young Min weren't so funny!
"Should we help him?" Yoo Min asks between bursts of laughter.
I shake my head, because I have a hunch who that person may be. She somehow extricates herself from Young Min, but as she steps back, the heel of her shoe makes contact with the plastic bag containing the bracelet she just purchased. She slips backwards and would have fallen, but my brother reaches out and grabs her waist to steady her. Her eyes lift to stare at him in shock, and he hurriedly lets go, his face becoming an even deeper shade of red. He takes a step backwards and starts admiring his shoes, looking like he wishes he's anywhere but there.
My stomach starts to cramp from all the laughter, and I sink into a crouch in the middle of the shop. The customers start leaving the shop, walking with brisk steps away, sending panicked glances back at us. The owner of the shop gives us a heavy frown, and I think she might have kicked us out if we weren't clutching a pair of earrings. I force myself to calm down a little, and somehow pull myself to my feet, trying to show Yoo Min the earrings and ask her if it suits me, but she's laughing too hard.
Grinning and trying desperately to hold in my giggles, I look back out. The girl is straightening her hat, and Young Min bends down to pick up the offending plastic bag for her. With his gaze still trained on his feet, he holds the packet out to her, and she smiles as she takes it. I can't hear what she's saying, but she bows and I gather she's greeting him. He looks up in shock, and when he sees her face, his own becomes even more red. I don't know if the rest of his body has enough blood left in it to function - most of the blood seems to be in his cheeks and ears.
But, my hunch was confirmed - the girl is Yoona.
He hurriedly bows to greet her, but his cap falls off in the process, landing at her feet. I kind of pity him, because everything seems to be going wrong for him, but it's just too funny. He stretches his hand out to pick the fallen cap off the ground about the same time Yoona does so, and their hands touch over the cap. Young Min yanks his hand back as if he's been burned, and I can see him scrunch his eyes up in frustration. Yoona grins at him and picks up the cap, slowly reaching up to put it on his head while his eyes are closed. He opens his eyes in surprise to see her really close to him, and he tries to step back, hitting the barrier instead.
She seems to realise that she's too close to him, and she steps back, a pretty blush spreading over her cheeks. Yoo Min and I are still laughing, but the shopkeeper's seen what we're laughing at, and is giggling herself. She walks over to us and gently lifts the earrings out of my hand so that I don't damage it while laughing as violently as my twin and I are now.
"Is that your brother?" she questions me, and I can see she's trying to avoid laughing so that she doesn't come off as rude.
Yoo Min looks up, shaking her head violently. "We are not related to him in any way!"
"I thought so," the ahjumma says, shaking with laughter. "My brother and I were like that when we were young."
"No, we're really not related to him!" I insist. "He's too embarrassing, so we decided to disown him."
She grins at that. "Is that his girlfriend?"
I shake my head. "He likes her though."
After that we remain in silence, only punctuated by more giggles, as we watch the awkward couple. Young Min pushes his cap lower over his head, staring at Yoona in fascination and horror. She peeps up at him, catches sight of his expression, and bites her lip. Even she is laughing at my brother. I see him mouth a quick "Annyeonghaseyo" and bow properly to her. Her lips lift into a smile, and she says something which makes him blush even more and nod bashfully. Then he tells her something, which makes her shake her head with a smile, and that makes him put on a smile too. She moves to stand next to him and they start chatting.
I pick up the earrings again and walk with the ahjumma to the counter to pay for it. Yoo Min walks over and throws in some bracelets. We pay for it and walk out, Young Min giving us death looks. I think we're in for it later. My twin doesn't help our situation by bursting into another round of laughter as we walk past them. We take a step past them, when Yoona steps out and touches my arm. I stop and look at her in shock.
"You're his sisters, right? I saw you drag him here," she tells me, and I exchange glances with Yoo Min.
"We're not related to him in any way," she says again, firmly.
"Yah!" Young Min protests.
I shoot him a look of my own. "Yah, you think you can embarrass yourself as badly as you did, and expect us to still want to be associated with you?"
Yoona starts laughing. "You're all so cute."
"They're not," Young Min says, pinching Yoo Min's arm, and she yells in protest.
"So you're the ones who sent me that message to meet Young Min-sshi here, right?" Yoona asks out of the blue, and I feel a sense of dread.
Young Min looks stunned. As the impact of her question sinks in, he turns slowly to me with fire in his eyes.
"Did you two send all the messages?" she questions.
"Ani," he answers suddenly, turning back to her. "I was texting you yesterday, but I think they stole my phone this morning to text you?"
At his questioning glance - more of a glare, really - Yoo Min laughs out a yes. "That's why we were so adamant you come with us here, rather than Kwang Min-oppa."
"Yoona-unnie still agreed to come meet you, though," I say, grinning.
My comment makes both Yoona and Young Min blush like crazy, and Yoo Min nudges me, muttering something about not being able to get the atmosphere. I'm confused.
"Uhm, I guess... I'll be going then, it's getting late," Yoona tells us now, and Yoo Min crosses her arms, staring at me. "Goodbye, dongsaengs, and Young Min-sshi."
And she turns and walks gracefully away.
"Did you have to say that?!" the other two ask at the same time.
I'm still confused.
A/n: oh gosh, I had to rewrite that since my brother deleted it. He thought it was a funny prank.... but it's obviously NOT. Anyway, I went crazy with this chapter - it was sooooo fun to write! :D Youngyoon is hilarious. What do you think? :D Thanks to the lovely commenters! I don't think I'll be doing comment replies this time around, though.
Comments