Visitor

 Winter break was working out pleasantly for Jieun. Although it meant more part-time jobs, it was still better than having to wake up every morning and have a gruelling battle with the alarm clock and your bed. Jieun opened her eyes and sniggered at the alarm clock which showed: 9:35AM. It felt like such a long time since she had a good nights sleep. It had already been an entire week since the bullying incident and she had been on quiet terms with Chanyeol. 

 She got dressed and headed downstairs, because Mr.Kim had told her last night that there would be a special announcement made. Everytime Jieun had to present herself before Mr.Kim, she was always dressed in the best clothes and accessories. She rushed back to her room and changed into a black collar dress, throwing a white knit over it. She brushed the knots out of her hair and topped it off with a hairband and slowly walked downstairs, to where the living room was.

 Mr.Kim sat at the most prestigeous seat in the living room and followed Mrs.Kim on the seat to his right. Myungsoo sat beside Mrs.Kim and opposite them sat Chanyeol and Suzy, side by side. Jieun bowed down politely and took a seat next to Myungsoo, because she certainly didn't want to sit beside Suzy. Myungsoo greeted her silently and she smiled back, waiting for Mr.Kim to say something. It was rather awkward, because she could feel the burning stare of the couple sitting opposite her.

 It was a fact she couldn't deny, they looked incredibly good together. 

"You know what time of the year it is," Mr.Kim opened his mouth. Everyone stared at Mr.Kim in unison and waited for him to say more. "Christmas and new years is coming up soon." Mr.Kim's face grew happier. Chanyeol let out a disgrunt and sighed heavily. "Father, could you exclude me this year?" "Nonsense! It is a family tradition and we must follow it every year!" Mr.Kim exclaimed.

 Jieun listened, completely clueless of what was happening. "It's an annual family trip," Myungsoo whispered to her. "It's just something that we do every year, where we pick a random destination and take off to that destination with the whole family and relatives." Jieun nodded, slightly upset. Jieun felt disfortunate, because she knew that she would have to be the one staying back to look after the house. But it wouldn't be so bad, since the housekeeper would be there to keep her company.

 "Jieun," Mr.Kim said warmly. "Y..yes?" She stuttered, smiling. "If you would like, you're more than welcome to tag along." "Oh..! No! It's a family trip, i couldn't possibly tag along.. i'd just ruin the whole thing.." Jieun's voice hummed.

"Yes Father in law, it is a family trip after all. Outsiders are strictly forbidden." Suzy grinned contemptuously, exaggerating the last part.

 The family meeting was adjourned, and Jieun rose from her seat, trying to disperse her sadness. It was a definite thing to be excluded from the family trip, but in a way she felt disappointed. "Jieun," Mr.Kim called her over. He had his back to her, staring outside the white winterland with a coffee mug in his hand. She slowly walked over to him and stood beside him, staring at whereever he was staring at.

 "Yes..?" She wasn't sure what to address him.

"You miss your Father, don't you?" He asked solemly, slurping his coffee. Jieun was silent, because she felt bitter everytime her father was mentioned in a conversation. "Yes." She croaked unintentionally. She looked down and let her hair cover her face. He breathed out lightly and looked at the sun shining down on them. "Your Father was a good man, and i owe my entire life to him."

 Jieun smiled, nodding. 

"If it wasn't for your Father, i wouldn't be where i am today. so," he paused to look at Jieun. "Think of this place as your home, and think of me as your Father. As long as you are in this household, you are an equal daughter to me, a daughter that i love." Jieun exchanged glances with Mr.Kim and smiled, touched. "So you're coming to the trip, alright?" Mr.Kim smiled and excused himself to his bedroom before Jieun could rebut.

 She headed upstairs and walked outside the balcony of the atrium. The atrium always had the best view of the city, day and night. The snow wasn't falling today, but the icy wind seemed to replace it. She wished that her father could also join them on this trip, and she felt bad for even getting invited. perhaps not going was the right thing to do, because she knew that she would only get pushed around by Suzy and the other relative members.

 "What are you thinking about?" Myungsoo popped up and leaned against the balcony with her. She grinned and let a white mist escape from . "Just.. thinking about my father." She whispered. 

"You know, it's quite strange how our Fathers had a very strong bond, but we never met until you came to our house," he said in a straight tone. "Fate really is an interesting thing." Jieun smiled and chuckled. 

"Actually," she glanced at him. "We have met before."

Myungsoo turned his gaze toward her and stared into her face. That smile seemed so familiar, yet he couldn't exactly make hold of it. "But it was when we were young, you wouldn't remember." she deflated the news. "When we were young, my Father was rich and thriving. One slip of the eye blew everything for us though." She chuckled half heartedly. Myungsoo was silent, as if he knew what was going on.

 "I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for Myungsoo? It was my Father who made the mistake, not you." 'Like Father, Like Son." Myungsoo said, shutting her up once more. She didn't know what to say, except to let the awkward silence flow through between them. She had known Myungsoo for quite some time now, but that awkwardness never ceased to disappear. "Jieun?" he called out. 

 She turned and waited for the question.

"Come to the trip, it will be fun."

And for the first time,

Myungsoo smiled.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

 The whole family was out because of a school committee, so Jieun was left home with the housekeeper, picking the heads of bean sprouts. She enjoyed it because this was what sh used to do with her Father very often. of course, Suzy was upstairs and refused to get her hands dirty. Jieun and the housekeeper sat opposite each other, picking the heads as they talked about the current issues and funny gossips of the household.

 The housekeeper was the only person who felt more like a Mother, probably because she wasn't spoilt by rich neccesassities like Mrs.Kim. She appreciated Mrs.Kim too, but people like her seemed to be living in a different universe.

 "Mr.Kim said that Sechan and SeJong arrived at Korea this morning," she said in a bothered voice, picking the heads slowly. "and their Father." "Who are they..?" Jieun asked, curious. there were so many people in this family that Jieun was actually fascinated. The housekeeper laughed in misery and tut her tongue. "Se-Chan and Se-Jong?" Jieun picked the heads meticulously, aiming the heads into the bin.

 "They're the twins of Mrs.Kim's younger brother." She sighed. 'Why the sigh?" "Every year they come over to Korea to stay for Christmas and new years, they destroy this house and i'm always on the verge of getting fired! Last year they had a party in this house the day before they were to depart for the US." Jieun snorted, absorbed by the Housekeeper's words.

 "But i forgive them for a reason," she chuckled. "Good genes run in the family. They're like the top four Korean ulzzangs in Los Angeles or something, my daughter talks about him all the time."

 The doorbell suddenly rang continuously, followed by rioting laughter and talking outside. "They must be here!" The housekeeper wiped her hands on her apron and rushed toward the door to greet them in. Soon after the door click, the rambunctious squealing barged inside the house and the two were busy running all around the house. "AHJUMMA I MISSED YOU!" A thick voice exclaimed as he hugged her tightly and headed toward the kitchen.

 Jieun sat there awkwardly with the bean sprouts in her hand, as the handsome boy stared at her. Soon, the other one rushed in and the two of them stared at Jieun, completely fascinated. 'Ahjumma, is she your daughter? She's cute!" the shorter one whistled and sat opposite her, cupping his face as he stared at her dreamily. 

"Hi, i'm Kang Se-chan. what's yours?" he eye smiled at Jieun, who nodded awkwardly.

"Get out you trouble makers!" The housekeeper slapped the two boys' back and cleared the bean sprouts on the table. "You haven't eaten dinner right?" she asked rhetorically as she began preparing a dinner table for the twins. The housekeeper sat beside Jieun as the two women watched the twins devour the food like a pig. Jieun stared at them, quite fascinated. She had never seen such people with a personality and it oddly amazed her.

 "She's the daughter of a close friend of Mr.Kim's," the housekeeper addressed as she took a seat beside Jieun and poured the boys a glass of water. "She'll be staying here for a while due to financial issues at home." 

"You're lucky," Se-Jong added as he sipped the water. "You get to live in all this luxury while your family is struggling." he sniggered. Jieun's expression grew dark and she looked down, feeling guilty. She was already aware and felt extremely bad, it was a new reality check to know that other people also thought that way. "You loudmouth!" The housekeeper slapped Se-Jong and stuffed food in his mouth.

 "Where's your Father?" she quickly changed the subject.

"He has some business to tend to," Se-chan blabbered, his mouth full. "He should be back at around midnight." 

 The two boys finished eating and leaned back on their chairs, patting their small-bulged stomachs. The housekeeper excused herself upstairs to clean, but really it was just another motive for Jieun and the twins to get closer - since she would be stuck on the vacation trip with them. The two twins cupped their face in their hands and stared at Jieun who didn't know where to rest her eyes.

 The both of them raised an eyebrow.

"So you're coming with us on the vacation trip?" Se-Jong asked, yawning. He seemed jetlagged but was doing an awfully good job staying awake. Jieun nodded faintly, biting her lips. she felt wrong for going, and she was second thinking herself. The twins smiled in unison and high fived each other. "This trip's going to be much more interesting,"

"Interesting..?" Jieun retorted.

"Yeah," Se-chan sighed. "The two brothers are so boring, i swear you'll fall asleep by just looking at them. Myungsoo's always snapping photos and refuses to communicate with human beings, while all Chanyeol wants to do is just go to sleep."

 "Yeah," Se-Jong added. "Last year, we went to the Moldives and all Chanyeol did was eat and sleep, and Myungsoo made a fricking photobook with all the pictures he took." The two sighed in unison, rolling their eyes. 

"I guess since Suzy will be coming along, it won't be as boring this time.. right?" Jieun bit her lips. She was quite intidimated by them, because they were so overwrought and a wrong touch would probably lead to a emotion volcano. The two sat up and slammed their hands on the table. "Suzy?" They said in unison, gulping uneasily. 

"Y..eah..?"

"How do you know Suzy?"

"I mean.. she's engaged to Chanyeol.." Jieun frowned.

The twins gaped dramatically. "Oh my gosh," Se-chan exaggerated in his american accent and ran his fingers through his hair. Jieun didn't understand what the big deal was and why they were making such a big fuss over this. Although it was quite crazy that arranged marriages were made, she assumed that they would be used to it since it was something that happened in their family.

 "She got engaged with Chanyeol?" "What about Myungsoo?" the two whispered. 

"What about Myungsoo..?" Jieun asked. she didn't want to pry into his life, but she had to admit- she was curious about Myungsoo. She wanted to know if he was always like that, or if a certain someone transformed him that way.

 Se-chan and Se-Jong were on the edge of their seats, dimming the light as they were in official story-telling mode. The two cleared their throat and opened their mouth to talk. "You probably have some idea of the relationship between Myungsoo and Suzy, i assume?" Se-chan asked, continuing before Jieun could respond. "It's easy to say that they were star crossed lovers."

"Star crossed..?"

Before the twins could utter another word, the front door slid open with a thud and entered Chanyeol and Myungsoo who kept a distance from each other. Chanyeol dropped his duffel bag and rushed over to the twins who high-fived each other. Myungsoo was cold, not even bothering to give them a single glance as he excused himself upstairs. Mr and Mrs.Kim entered and greeted the two boys warmly, followed by a bunch of people who followed after them.

 It must have been the other family relatives, because they didn't even take notice of Jieun's existance.

. . .

 The morning sun rose, followed by Jieun who was one of the first people up. Jieun dressed orderly and rushed down to the kitchen, where the housekeeper and Mrs.Kim were busy preparing pancakes and the usual American breakfast. It had to be done since the majority of the family resided in the U.S - and the housekeeper did not know much about preparing foreign breakfasts.

 Jieun wrapped an apron around her waist and took on the instructions, cooking up whatever she could. She knew it was in her duty to do this, because she still felt extremely bad and burdened about going along with this trip.

 Jieun set a total of fifteen  plates on the dinner table and poured water into every single glass. The family scale was quite large and it had taken over an hour and a half to prepare the whole thing. Just as Jieun served the last sunny-side egg on the fourteenth plate, Se-chan sauntered into the kitchen, still in his sleepwear. He was quite provocative, but not in a negative way. It was just that Jieun had never seen someone wander around the house in such a unkempt state and lived to get away with it.

 "But he's family.." Jieun murmured to herself.

"Morning Aunt," Se-chan croaked as he rubbed his eyes and took a seat at one of the seats. He gulped the glass of water and slapped his face, which now seemed to be fully awake. He ruffled his hair and stared at Jieun who was busy running back and forth from the kitchen, preparing the breakfast. 

 All the family members had taken their seat at the dinner table and began to nibble on their food, with light chatter. The eldest members of the family - the grandparents from both sides and below laughed in unison, sharing joyful news of the past year and updating each other. The other half of the table was more tranquil, as everyone ate and continuously stared at Jieun who felt extremely uncomfortable at the stares directed to her.

 It was understandable, since only the adults knew about Jieun and her father - and to the rest, Jieun was just a stranger. Se-chan and Se-Jong continued to talk amongst themselves, later joining with the two other members who she wasn't familiar with.

Opposite her sat a young lady who presumably seemed to be in her mid twenties. She looked extremely eloquent and every gesture she made seemed to flow with femineity. Jieun watched as her bobbed hair shone perfectly against the sunlight that was leaking through the window, slowly brushing against her rosy complexion.

 "What are you staring at?" she snapped.

"N..nothing.." Jieun murmured, facing down. 

"Jin-yi," the man next to her punched her lightly as he chuckled. "You scared the poor girl." he laughed. Jieun looked up and saw his mocking smile. She watched as he bit on the crispy toast with his cherry-like lips, appreciating the taste of the American breakfast as he closed his delicate double eyelids. Myungsoo slammed his fist down, catching the attention of the two people who killed Jieun's spirit.

 "Jin-yi noona," Myungsoo sighed. "and Yoon-hyung hyung," Myungsoo glared at the two of them. "You know she didn't prepare this breakfast at 6AM in the morning to get mockery from you two." Myungsoo shot a death stare at the two reflected it right back. Jin-yi scoffed and flicked her hair behind her ears. "Kim Myungsoo, your words are a little harsh these days?" She asked, not blinking once.

 'Are you sure it's not just you?" 

"What?" Jin-yi blurted.

"Calm down everyone," Se-chan and Se-Jong held Jin-yi down, mouthing Myungsoo to shut up. He crossed his arms and chewed on his food slowly. "Myungsoo, apologize to noona." Yoon-hyung ordered but Myungsoo only stayed in his seat, his arms firmly crossed. "Myungsoo." Yoonhyung repeated, no response.

 "Why should i apologize?" he asked. "I was only telling the truth."

Se-chan and Se-Jong held down Jin-yi once more. 

This wasn't going to be a peaceful vacation, Jieun thought to herself.

. . .

 The whole family gathered around the living room, with a wooden box in the center. The whole family whispered in excitement as they glanced at the box, waiting for something. Jieun stared at the box which labelled Destination.

 Mr.Kim returned back to the couch and he rubbed his two hands together in delight. "Whose turn is it this year? It was Se-chan last year, right? If the cycle starts again.. It's me!" Mr.Kim roared into laughter as he stuck his hand inside the box and mixed the papers inside with all his might. everybody was on the edge of their seats as they waited for Mr.Kim to draw a paper out of the box.

 Even Myungsoo seemed a little excited, seeing that he was on the edge of the sofa but still kept his straight face. Mr.Kim slipped his hand out and inside his hand was a small piece of paper waiting to be opened. Everyone squealed in excitement as they eagerly waited Mr.Kim to open the paper and announce what was written inside. Mr.Kim unfolded the paper and cried of joy, eager to reveal the destination to the rest of the family.

"This year, it is...."

Everyone drum-rolled as Mr.Kim held the paper in mid-air.

 Everyone cheered and screamed in delight, hugging each other as if South Korea had won the World Cup. Jieun stared at the paper in Mr.Kim's hand, puzzled. On the small piece of paper read,

France.

"Why aren't you cheering?!" Se-chan grabbed her two hands and bounced up and down, joy engraved onto his face. "WE'RE GOING TO FRANCE THIS CHRISTMAS!"

"France..?" Jieun repeated.

"FRANCE?!"

Hey Everyone! So Christmas is really soon! It's in three days! (or even tomorrow, depending on where you live.) I am really excited because Christmas is literally my favourite special holiday out of the entire year, and i really wanted to travel out of the country for Christmas this year, but i can't because of school work and all this busy crap.. My Mom's going to Korea with my brother soon and i feel so left out.. ToT but i can't do anything about it since school is my number one priority at the moment. I'm travelling to San-Francisco soon and i will try to update at least two more chapters before i leave! 

Here's a family chart for those confused ^^ Sorry it's really crappy i was rushing it

CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART