Lorraine had long known why Kylie had been acting more mature than someone her age, and it was because of the environment or circumstances they had grown up to where even someone young as Kylie was forced to mature far quicker than any other similar kids her age.
After all, the two siblings became orphaned when their parents died five years ago.
The only fortunate thing that happened is that their parents had savings that could let the siblings live comfortably for a year. Fortunately, John was already a responsible young man by then and already knew what he had to do.
For their future, he immediately dropped out of school and started taking odd jobs to take care of himself and his sister, and every time he goes to work, he would always drop Kylie over at Lorraine's, who would gladly look after her along with her mother back then, and even until now.
In fact, if it wasn't for John strongly opposing it back then, Lorraine's family would have adopted the two siblings, and it was only because their families are really close even when they weren't blood-related or anything.
John would have gladly accepted them being adopted. It just he didn't want to impose on them anymore as they were even the ones who had taken over almost of their parent's funeral expenses.
Of course, that wasn't really the reason. It was because he's already a grown man who could make decisions for himself and his sister, and at the same time, he doesn't want to owe Lorraine's family any more than what they did for them.
And for him, with their parent's savings and him working, taking care of Kylie and himself wouldn't be that hard for him as little kids aren't that costly to take care of yet unlike adults who need a lot of things just to function every day, whereas a kid only needs someone to take care of them and feed them.
After all, it's not like a little kid could eat a lot more than a grown man, right?
It was already dusk when the two siblings arrived back home.
Their house is just another regular one hundred square meters bungalow house, similar to those western houses where there's a small stair that leads towards the front door and the terrace of the home.
Fifteen meters in front of the house is the national highway that connects all cities and towns in the country, and over a hundred meters away from the house is the view of the beautiful ocean.
And at the back of the house is a small garden with a variety of plants planted, past that is the tree line leading towards a small forest.
Aside from the two of them, there's also another being living in the house.
"Woof! Woof!"
It was the guardian of their home, a pure white dog with no distinctive features of any known dog breeds.
It was just a regular dog.
"Rusty, we're home!"
After passing through the gate of their home, Kylie yelled in excitement as she rushed towards their pet dog who was also running towards them in excitement while wagging its furiously!
Kylie dropped in a knee while Rusty quickly slowed down and stopped in front of her, letting the little lady pet him while it nudges its head towards Kylie affectionately.
"Come on, let's go inside," John said after petting Rusty a little bit.
John took out his keys and opened the front door, and the two siblings went inside, followed by Rusty, the dog.
Inside, John quickly sent Kylie to the bath while he took a short rest before heading to the kitchen and started preparing for dinner with the sound of the evening news in the background.
John took out a lump of meat from the freezer, cleaned it with running water, and started slicing it into chunks.
Then he placed the chunks of meat inside a bowl and started seasoning it with:
Soy sauce, grounded pepper, and chopped garlic.
Followed by half a glass of sparking water, which is a naturally carbonated drink that they had bought on the way home. Following that, he started mixing them together until the meat had been covered in a light brown color.
John then took out a pot and placed the meat inside as he added a glass of water and finally started cooking it in medium heat. Halfway through, Kylie finally came out of the bath and dressed in her pajamas and quietly sat at the dining table as she eagerly waited for her brother to finish cooking her favorite food.
Of course, John didn't forget to cook some rice, as dinner wouldn't be complete without it.
"Oppa, are you done yet!?"
Kylie said with her feet dangling excitedly under the table, and with Rusty lying down beside her seat.
John turned to look behind him and said with a smile, "Just a few more minutes little missy"
Kylie sniffed the air and couldn't help but exclaim in delight, "It smells good! Don't forget to make it saucy oppa, so I can add it over the rice! Hehe"
"Of course it will smell good, it's me cooking it after all! I also didn't forget that you love its sauce more than the meat, and by the way, classes would be starting again soon. So let's go buy the things that you need tomorrow, okay?" said John.
"Okay!" Kylie cheerfully raised one of her hands.
"But are you okay now? Unnie said that you need to have some rest" said Kylie, referring to Lorraine.
"Of course I am, so don't worry, alright?"
John said while flexing his bicep, eliciting laughter from Kylie, thinking how hilarious the expression on her brother.
A couple of minutes later.
The food was done, and the two siblings had a sumptuous meal, even Rusty clearly enjoyed the food.
Well, any food becomes delicious if you're hungry, even those below average kind.
After dinner, John washed the dishes while Kylie quickly rushed to the living room and started watching her favorite show…
The Walking Dead.
A couple of minutes later, John went outside and stood on the terrace of their home as he gazed towards the starry night sky.
Looking at the beautiful night sky, John couldn't help but let out a smile when he remembered what Kylie had told him a couple of days ago when he asked her what she wanted to do when she grows up.
"I want to be rich and build a huge mall like those in the big city! So that we wouldn't worry about food anymore because people would give it to us instead! I also want to have a big house and live in it with Oppa!"
"And with Rusty too, I also hope he can find a wife soon and have kids, hehe!"