Shane wasn't sure if he wanted to go home just yet. Loralie would be there waiting for him but he didn't want to face her. He knew she would do something that would mean kissing goodbye to the crown.
Jihoon parked behind a short square building. The savory scent of doenjang jjigae permeated the air. It was a simple dish, but no Korean could smell it and not feel comforted.
"Where are we?" Shane swung off the scooter.
Before Jihoon answered, a voice called out. "Have I been replaced, Jihoon-ah?"
Jihoon chuckled and called back to the old halmeoni sitting on a wooden platform across the street. "Never, you'll always be my number one."
"He looks like those grim reapers in the books."
Shane froze. Had this old woman seen through his disguise?
"A really grim man I must say, that too a foreigner. He's handsome." Rin halmeoni cackled in amusement.
Jihoon smiled, revealing his deep dimples. "Yes, that he is."
They both turned when the back door of the restaurant crashed open.
"Jihoon-ah! Where have you been?" An elderly woman stood framed in the doorway. Her hands were folded firmly across her chest. Her hair was a shock of white. Her face wrinkled in stern lines. This was not a woman to cross.
"Grandma, this is Shane Kensington. She's a new transfer student in our class." Jihoon pushed Shane forward, ducking behind him like a shield.
"What did I tell you about pushing people?" grandma asked, whipping a ragout of her apron and smacking him with it. Her aim was so precise that Shane felt the wind from the rag without feeling the sting of it herself.
Jihoon raced around to Shane's other side, trying to escape, but his halmeoni followed, surprisingly spry.
Shane was fascinated by the display. Usually, when faced with a guest, people were painstakingly polite. Hiding their family drama behind a facade of bright smiles. Not this family. Jihoon's grandma beat on him with the rag while he shouted out in protest.
"I swear, Park Jihoon, you are enough to age me ten years in one day. First I hear that something had happened in school and then you disappeared all night? Do you want me to have a heart attack?" From her booming question, Shane doubted this was a woman who'd succumb to any ailment easily.
"I was fine, I wasn't even there, I was in the PC room," Jihoon argued, and his grandma's eyes narrowed. Shane was surprised at how easily Jihoon had lied to his grandma.
"Later, Park Jihoon. I will deal with you later." grandma smiled at Shane, a lightning change in mood. "I suspect you're hungry."
Shane was surprised by the quick shift from anger to hospitality but he remembered to bow in belated greeting. "No, I'm fine."
"Nonsense, you're a teenager. Teenagers are always hungry. Come on in, the family is waiting.."
Grandma shuffled back inside, giving Shane no chance to refuse again.
"Come on." Jihoon pulled his arm toward the restaurant.
"I think I should go," Shane said, though the aroma from inside made his mouth water.
"Just let her feed you. She'll never let you leave until you eat."
"Are you sure you don't want to use me as a way to delay your punishment?"
"Of course I do, so be a good friend and let me." Jihoon gave her a crooked grin and his heart wavered. He should have corrected him, told him they weren't friends, but for some reason, she didn't. It seemed odd that a month ago he hadn't known this boy existed and now she almost yearned for his company.
The cramped restaurant was unimpressive. The yellowing linoleum was cracked; the water filter gave a sad gurgle in the corner. Under a single fluorescent light, a small table was set for dinner. Steaming bowls of doenjang jjigae filled the room with the salty scent of bean paste.
Shane's chair rocked a bit on uneven legs as he sat. Minjae and his parents were seated around the table as well.
Minjae scrunched his nose in disgust.
"Park Jihoon," he asked, narrowing his eyes towards his brother, "Why have you brought her here?"
"Minjae." his mother warned, smiling at Shane, "It's the first time our Hoonie has brought someone to this house. Welcome."
Mr. Park smiled as Shane greeted the two of them as well.
When Grandma walked out with an extra bowl of jjigae in her hands, Shane jumped up and took it to set on the table.
"A fine young man, I see." Halmeoni patted him firmly on the rear in approval. Shane froze. She'd never received such casual affection before.
And he was woefully unpracticed in how to keep his composure.
"So you recently moved to town?" Grandma asked, sitting.
"Yes, with my sister," Shane said as she took his seat again.
"And your parents?" Mrs. Park asked.
"They're not with us." Shane didn't know what to say. No one had ever brought up his parents before.
"Oh, I'm sorry for your loss," Mr. Park said, his smile sympathetic.
"They're not dead." Shane bristled at the assumption. "They're back in Australia"
Jihoon's halmeoni continued, unfazed. "Well, dear, sometimes the universe works in odd ways, but the family does not always come about through blood."
Unable to find a reply, Shane spooned up a bite. Mrs. Park placed a piece of meat on top. Such a simple gesture. One Shane had witnessed a thousand dramas. One of someone who cared for another. Shane shoved the bite into his mouth despite the tightness in his throat.
"He rarely brings girls or guys here," Minjae remarked, not looking at anyone.
"Hey, I am gay, I am not going to bring girls in here. That is your job."
Jihoon glanced up and met Shane's eyes, giving her a wide grin. He had kimchi stuck in his teeth. And he hated that it made his goofy smile even more endearing.
Jihoon and his family moved with such consideration of each other, a lifetime of learned behavior. Mrs. Park spooned some of her meat into Minjae's bowl. He nudged the cucumber kimchi closer to her before she reached for it.
Jihoon laid a hand over his grandma's as he ate. His thumb moved back and forth over the thin skin of her knuckles. Shane wondered if he even realized he did it.
How could people go from shouting in the street to sharing such a loving meal? They were so at ease with their love. They fought and laughed and adored each other so openly.
His throat tightened on a wave of emotion, and he choked on his next bite. Everyone looked at him curiously. Shane's eyes filled, and he ducked her head low over his bowl to hide the tears as they fell.
It hurt to see such love when he'd never received it herself. Like picking at a wound after he'd long grown a callus over it. And now it lay open and fresh. A feeling of being so hollow, Shane wondered if he'd ever been able to fill the space again.
• • •
After dinner, Shane offered to do the dishes to escape and organize his thoughts.
A drama played on the small television in the corner as he filled the sink with suds. The sound of an argument between two characters spun out of the speakers to join his bitter mood.
MInjae pushed through the door with the last of the dirty dishes. he wanted to tell him to leave. His pain had translated into annoyance, and he was Shane's main target.
Before he had a chance to banish him, he pulled on the second pair of gloves and started washing alongside her.
Shane dug her teeth into the inside of his mouth. As she tasted the copper flavor of blood, he forced himself to relax, trying to let go of her anger with it. he might as well let him help. His hands were already submerged in the water, scrubbing at a giant pot.
"What's it about?" Minjae nodded toward the television.
Shane considered ignoring him but knew he'd badger him until he replied. Both the Park brothers were alike in this way.
The scene showed the heroine driving down a dark road on her way to sacrifice herself for the man she loved. Shane shook his head at the foolishness of martyrdom.
"She's poor and he's rich. His family doesn't want them to be together. I think she's going to get into an accident this episode. She'll get amnesia or something, and they'll be separated for a while."
"If his family doesn't approve, why do they need to create another arbitrary reason to separate the two?"
"Because it adds drama."
"If you can predict the show, why watch?"
"It's a company." Shane shrugged.
"Company?"
"When you don't have friends, it's nice to fill the space with noise, even if it's just the television."
"Is that really enough? They're just dramas," Minjae said as the sound of a car crash radiated from the speakers. The ebb and flow of sweeping music accompanied the slow-motion disaster on-screen. "It's not real life."
"I prefer a fictional life. Things in the outside world are too messy." Shane gestured toward the cluster of police and emergency workers dealing with the accident. "I need to be in control. It's safer that way."
The hero ran through the mess of cars. He was held back by an officer as he sobbed out the heroine's name. The cameras pulled out to show the enormity of the hero's desperation as his voice joined the sounds of sirens. The next scene held the caption: FIVE YEARS LATER.
Shane almost wished he wasn't able to predict these shows so well.
"Safer for whom, half brother, Jihoon?" Minjae asked.
Shane looked around, hoping no one had listened. Shane stared at him as the swell of the theme song surrounded them, lyrics of love lost and hearts broken. An unhappy song for an unhappy story.
"Why does it matter?" he asked.
"It doesn't. It's just that you apparently have feelings for my brother, "half brother."."
Shane scrunched his nose in disgust.
"That's sick, even for a person like you."
"I know," Minjae grinned, "So do you have feelings for Jihoon, half brother?"
"You ask too many questions." Shane tried to focus on the dishes.
Minjae sighed, "I'll ask Jihoon to walk you home."