"Jiyong," A muted voice called, "Jiyong." He was suddenly aware of someone gently shaking him.

He opened his eyes, but just a crack. Just enough to see the outline of a figure against the window through which the soft morning light was streaming. 

"God damn it, Jiyong, get your out of bed already, will you?" He laughed, suddenly realizing that the voice was neither muted nor was the shaking gentle. It was Jieun. "What are you giggling at you idiot, get up or we'll be late."

"Jieunnie," He moaned, "Can't we skip school today?"

"No," She said bluntly, "It's the first day of school, your mom already has breakfast ready. I'll go ahead and eat, yeah? Hurry or you'll only get my cold left overs."

He opened his eyes and she stuck out her tongue at him, rushing out of his messy room and down the stairs. He stretched, groaning, and sat up. About fifteen minutes later, he headed down, in uniform, and entered the kitchen to find Jieun and his mom and his sister. His dad had probably already gone to work.

"Hey!" He eyed the plates on the table, alarmed, "Did you really eat all of the food yourselves?"

The girls just laughed.

"Seriously!" He protested, seriously, "I'm a growing boy, I need food."

"There, there," Their mother came in chuckling, and set some full plates down, "There's food for all of you."

"You're really the only one I can count on, mom," The boy sat down and started digging into the dishes. 

The older woman just stood there, staring at the three teenagers.

"Is something wrong Mrs. Kwon?" Jieun tilted her head, looking at her.

"Ani," She answered, a bit choked up, "It's just hard to believe that it's already been a year since you entered high school. Next thing we know, you'll be graduating. Oh my, it's like Dami all over again."

"Mom," The girl in question said, "Control your hormones."

Jiyong gasped, making them all look at him, "Mom, you wouldn't happen to be menopausal, would you?"

"Christ, listen to this kid," His mother frowned, "Do you have no shame?"

"She's avoiding the question," He whispered, as if having a revelation.

"She didn't have to be that rough," He complained a few minutes later, rubbing his backside, where his mother had hit him in the process of kicking them out. They started walking.

"You should be nicer to your