Lee SoLin walked into the kitchen to find TaeHyun and TaeJin suited up for a hike. She looked from her handsome son to her lovely daughter and asked, “Hey, no fair, what about me?”

As TaeJin strapped in herself into her shoes, she replied, “Breakfast is on the stove, just warm it up. Juice is in the fridge,” she smiled and did a few stretches before she turned to her brother, “Ready when you are.”

SoLin sighed. She’d gotten so used to all the Korean being spoken and to have her twins suddenly jump right back into English, as if they were in America – SoLin frowned and noticed TaeJin hadn’t brought her phone. She looked at TaeHyun and noticed his extra bulk and then frowned, “TaeHyun, are you blackmailing your sister?”

TaeHyun smiled and looked at TaeJin, “Am I blackmailing you?”

TaeJin sighed, “Technically speaking, no. But you did up the stakes,” she added.

SoLin opened to argue when TaeHyun added, “Dad gets in sometime today. I thought you might want to pick him up or something. Or was MiNam doing that already?”

SoLin frowned, “MiNam doesn’t know how your father looks. But it might be a pretty good opportunity for them to meet. Still,” she sighed, pouting, “it to be left out of your plans.”

TaeJin rolled her eyes, “Trust me, if you were interested in him, too, I’m sure TaeHyun would have made you a part of this. As it is, we’re wasting daylight.”

SoLin frowned but TaeHyun kissed the top of his mother’s head and followed his sister out the back door. SoLin watched as TaeHyun seemed to tease TaeJin before both took off at a slight jog up the path that disappeared into the woods.

She moved to check her phone and smiled, seeing a sweet message from her dear husband. She shook her head, wondering how MiNam and MiNyu would react to meeting her Asian American husband. Although she had won him from many a-groupies, keeping him was never the issue. Having her fully devoted to her, she knew he would be with her knight in shining armor until the day she died, and beyond. She just wished TaeJin would find someone like that and soon. She thought about the young man from A.N.Jell and then shook her head.

ShinWoo was much more her son’s type than her daughters. And then SoLin shook her head, wanting to kick that thought from her mind. She had once caught TaeHyun kissing a guy that really seemed to like TaeJin. When she asked him why he did it, TaeHyun proclaimed that the guy let him do it because the guy just liked the way they looked. And so, TaeHyun confused him enough to trip him up and, unable to lift his head around TaeJin, the boy ran away and never bothered them again.

SoLin saw it as a sign that TaeHyun was protecting his sister, but she couldn’t help but wonder about his orientation after hearing about those incidents. And when she talked to TaeHyun about the possibility of being gay, TaeHyun simply asked her to mind her own business and not listen to the lies around them. So, SoLin did just that and things were going well for a while until she realized that TaeHyun had never had any scandals with women but only with men. Not to mention. TaeHyun only ever hung out with TaeJin and the rest of the band. Matt had never been a threat, but his uality had always been questionable to SoLin. If the guy weren’t so amazing at every instrument, SoLin would have kicked him off the team a long time ago.

SoLin jumped when her phone rang and she saw that it was MiNam. She picked up and smiled, “MiNam? What is it?”

On the other end, MiNam asked, “If you’re not too busy today. I’ve been working on a song that I would like to play for you. Do you have time for me?”

SoLin smiled, “I have to pick someone up at the airport and then can be right over. Is that alright with you?” she asked, checking her email at the same time.

MiNam replied with, “Yes. Thanks, Aunt. I’ll be waiting to hear from you.”

“A family dinner!” SoLin shouted and then added, much more in a normal voice, “We should have a family dinner. I’m sure TaeHyun and TaeJin would love that.”

MiNam nodded, “I’ll let MiNyu know and just let us know the time.”

SoLin smiled, “Great, then I’ll contact you soon!” SoLin hung up the phone and then sighed, walking over to the stove. She heat up her food and then served it on a big plate. Alone, she sat in the silence of the morning and ate her breakfast, simply waiting for time to fly faster.

***

On the mountain, TaeHyun kept up with TaeJin and when they reached the great boulder, he shouted, “I kissed that guy.”

TaeJin miscalculated the jump and nearly missed TaeHyun’s arms, which pulled her up to safety. When she looked up at TaeHyun, she demanded, “Why?! He’s not even that into me!”

TaeHyun shrugged, “He looked like he was. His lips were soft,” he added as they picked up a light jog again.

TaeJin followed her brother through the uphill climb and then shouted up to him, “Did he kiss you back?”

“Does it matter?” TaeHyun retorted, sliding on some mud but using it to anchor himself before TaeJin jumped over it and pulled him out of it.

TaeJin sighed, keeping the slight lead in front of her brother, “I wanted to ignore it, but he’s kinda getting to me.”

Her confession was painstaking to make, but TaeHyun laughed and replied, “I know.”

TaeJin tripped over some branches but TaeHyun kept her upright and then he released her and confirmed, “He was very angry I had done that and asked me not to do it again. He sounded a lot like you!” They reached the great slide and then TaeHyun took it first. TaeJin followed after a moment’s pause so they wouldn’t crash into each other.

TaeHyun waited until they stood at the waterfall before he stated, “He’s not good enough for you, TaeJin. He has a long way to go before he discovers who he wants to be.”

TaeJin knew he sounded pompous, but also that he knew what he was talking about. “He’s that messed up, eh?” she asked softly.

TaeHyun sighed and turned to TaeJin, “You know what you want and where you’re going in life. People in that industry, the Asian music industry, only know one thing and one way. He’s exactly like them. He doesn’t fit you.”  TaeJin turned to look into TaeHyun’s eyes and saw sincerity. “Truly, TJ, I wish I could tell you otherwise, but, the guy’s just as lost as the others.”

TaeJin sighed, “What about MiNam and MiNyu?”

“I want to get them out of there as soon as possible. We’re family, so we’ll always be tied to them. But those guys,” TaeHyun shook his head and pulled off his shirt, securing it in his bag before tossing his back onto the shore of the pond below.

TaeJin did the same and TaeHyun shook his head, “They can change. They’re still young.”

TaeHyun smiled, “He’s not ready to change. He doesn’t even know how to yet.” TaeHyun reached out his hand and he took TaeJin’s hand. “Don’t try to force yourself to do anything. Think of it as a fling and, when the time comes, just let him go.”

TaeJin swallowed, letting her sweat drip and tears fall, “I hate it when you’re right.”

“Love you, sis,” TaeHyun smiled.

TaeJin winced, “Hate you, bro.”

TaeHyun counted and they jumped together. The moment they hit the water, both let the coolness wash over them. They knew the hike was inevitable but they also knew that they needed it.

For, although having not seen the kiss, TaeJin knew it had happened when ShinWoo wouldn’t see them off and she received a message from him saying he couldn’t duet with her anymore. TaeJin had seen this reaction only when TaeHyun kissed those who showed interest in her. She knew it was his way of testing them and hated it when she never saw them again. Thus, she stopped holding onto the idea that they would push through their confusion and be with her.

Which was why she learned to stop making male friends.

Before she resurfaced, a strong arm reached down and pulled her to the water’s surface. She opened her eyes and saw TaeHyun worriedly tread water next to her. She recognized his look of concern and hated it. She knew he’d been worried about her since she agreed to stay in Korea longer than the rest of Smooth Edges. It was an unspoken distress call that he answered, as he always did. She knew Ruth would talk to him about it and wondered how long it took for him to realize what was going on and jump on a plane to head over.

Their family was quite predictable in their own unpredictable way.

And yet, they were family.