The weekends.
Gun had been forced to attend some kind of school activity at his university, so Yeo Ri was home alone. However, since she already had plans for the day, she did not stay at home.
Of course, Gun knew that she was going to go out, but he didn't want her to be alone. Yeo Ri had requested Jin Goo to be her chaperone for the day, and though he was reluctant, Gun had no choice but to trust the older man. In any case, Jin Goo had once helped them by offering them shelter before, so Gun held some degree of trust in the man.
"Jin Goo-oppa, thanks for the ride," Yeo Ri smiled at the man next to her. "Keep it a secret from my brothers, okay?"
The aforementioned man merely smiled craftily in response, easily accepting his role as her partner-in-crime. "It's my pleasure, Yeo Ri-ah. I'll buy you ice cream later. How's that sound?" He offered.
Yeo Ri's eyes lit up at the mention of ice cream, and found herself cheerfully nodding her head.
"But where are we going, Yeo Ri-ah? Who are you going to meet?"
"Hm," Yeo Ri tilted her head, wondering if she should tell him. But then again, he was going so far to help her out, so she should probably tell him. "I'm going to see my 'grandparents'."
"Grand... parents?" Jin Goo raised his eyebrows in mild surprise. Yeo Ri had grandparents? This was news to him. Did his friend know anything about this? He was not in a rush to reach a conclusion since he knew that Yeo Ri had a different mother unlike her two brothers. She was probably referring to her maternal grandparents whom the Lee trio had never met before.
"Mm. They reached out the other day when... you know," Yeo Ri shrugged, "well, this and that happened, and I'm just going to see them for a bit, since they invited me and all."
"Shouldn't you tell your brothers about this?" Jin Goo asked with a slight crease on his forehead. This matter was surprisingly important. "They might be bad people, you know?" Just like Park Soo Yeon, he was worried that these 'grandparents' might turn out to be fake. He didn't want Yeo Ri to be disappointed if they were.
"..." Yeo Ri looked down at her palms, "I know. But I..." her voice trailed off.
Jin Goo glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. He could see her subdued appearance and suddenly felt bad for the poor girl. All she had now were her brothers; it was not wrong for her to try to find out more about her relatives. Family was a nice thing to have, after all. The more the merrier, right?
Jin Goo sighed to himself before smiling sympathetically at the girl, "Okay, I understand. Just holler if anything happens. Oppa is here for you." He raised his arm as if to pat her head, but decided against it as soon as he raised his hand. He took back his hand once he remembered that Yeo Ri might still be uncomfortable with his touch.
Yeo Ri noticed his actions and smiled up at him gingerly. After hesitating for some time, she decided to take his hand and placed it on her head, clearly giving him permission to touch her.
Jin Goo looked back at her in surprise before breaking into a grin. A sweet feeling filled his chest as he thought of how Yeo Ri had begun to open up to him again. He cackled inwardly as he wondered how jealous his two stupid friends would feel if they knew about this.
"Thank you, Jin Goo-oppa." Yeo Ri said, "You're my family too."
Jin Goo did not detect the strange nuance hidden within her words and happily nodded. It was good that Yeo Ri was becoming more comfortable with him, just like the old days. He had always envied his friends for having siblings, so being seen as a brotherly figure by Yeo Ri pleased him greatly.
After making sure that Yeo Ri was ready, the two sets off to their destination with his car.
While the two half-siblings were on their way, an elderly couple was busily pacing in front of their front door.
"Is she here yet?" The woman asked her husband.
The husband stopped his pacing to check the intercom's camera. Seeing no activities outside, he sighed and looked back at his wife with a shake of his head, "Not yet."
Watching them from the staircase was a teen-aged girl. She frowned deeply at their actions, annoyance bubbling up. "I can't believe Mom and Dad invited a stranger to our house..." she angrily muttered to herself. Sending an accusing glare at her elderly parents, she harrumphed and stomped her feet towards the living room and angrily sat down on the sofa.
The elderly couple waited for another half an hour before a car finally pulled up at their gates. After dropping off the passenger, the car drove away in search of a place to park.
Yeo Ri took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment to gather her resolution before pressing the doorbell.
Ding dong!
"She's here! She's here...!" The old woman immediately got up from her seat and rushed to press the switch to open the gates.
Yeo Ri stood outside the gate, smoothing out her dress as she waited for the owners of the house to invite her in.
A buzzing sound rang out and the gate in front of her automatically unlocked. Through the intercom, a woman's voice rang out somewhat breathlessly, "Do come in!"
Yeo Ri awkwardly pushed the gate open.
Though they called themselves her grandparents, she had never met them before, so they were basically strangers. It was her first time walking into a total stranger's home.
She allowed her gaze to roam around the front yard. There was a porch to her right and a meticulously-kept garden to her left.
Before she even reached the entrance's doorstep, the door already swung open, revealing two elderly people who were dressed in semi-formal clothing.
Yeo Ri took a split second to scan them before bowing her head politely, greeting them, "Hello."
"Ah, yes, hello." The old woman cracked a nervous smile as she invited Yeo Ri to step into their home. Her eyes seemed to redden as she took in Yeo Ri's appearance. 'So similar!' She thought. The young girl was like a carbon copy of her daughter when she was younger. No, perhaps even prettier. Yeo Ri's calm demeanour and slim build seemed to add a fragility and gentleness that was never present in her haughty daughter's gait.
Thinking of her daughter, the old woman smiled sorrowfully. She ushered the young girl to the dining table and served her a cup of tea.