After I have thrown on the clothes that he borrowed me, I tentatively follow him into the kitchen, my eyes enthralled by the beauty of this cottage house. When I came here with Fleance to quickly fetch something he left behind, I did not notice how aesthetically pleasing the interior design of this house was. Unlike the marbled, modern touch that most houses have this one is leaning more towards the olden days with the limestone touch. I see it with the vibrant colours that also fill the house.
Coming from the speaker placed on the counter is the soulful voice of Beyoncé. When I spot the woman singing along to the song, my eyebrows furrow in wonder and I glance up at Kai for some answers, but I see him shaking his head as though embarrassed. Then he looks at me.
I grin and playfully say, "Them hips don't lie."
"That is my mum you're talking about," he replies in a scolding tone, his eyes conveying his amusement at my words. After shaking his head, he prompts me to sit down beside him on one of the stools. I do with a humoured grin curling on my lips.
"The devil's on my shoulder," she keeps repeating, her hips swaying to the beat.
Impressed by her moves, I again look over at him and see him now burying his face in his hands. When he hears the breathy, almost inaudible laughter leaving past my lips, he turns his head slightly and peeks at me through his fingers. From the playful glower that he throws at me, I try to tame my face into a look of neutrality. His glare hardens. I snort again.
"Mum," he drawls out loudly with an embarrassed groan.
"If you give this ass a squeeze."
"Maan!" She still sways along to the song, seemingly in a world of her own, so he stands up and switches the speaker off. "Maan."
"What?" She turns around to glare at him for touching the speaker.
"Please stop."
"Turn the music back on. You know I have to listen to Beyoncé every morning. She is life itself—" When her eyes land on me, she trails off.
I try to lift my lips in polite acknowledgement, but I am pretty sure all I do is end up looking constipated, so I immediately stop trying to smile. I can see where Kai got his good looks. She is very beautiful; has an air of grace surrounding her. After examining me closely, causing me to squirm under her intense gaze, she looks over at her son who returns to his seat.
Sternly, she says, "I did not know we had guests."
"Oh, um… this is my… friend, Seong Jin," he introduces me to his mother and I am compelled to smile at her again. "Seong Jin, meet the woman who birthed me."
"It's nice to meet you, Mrs Singh." I lean over the counter and present an open hand to her.
"You too, Seong Jin." After placing the spatula in her other hand, she shakes my hand, the feeling of her hands so soft in mine. "Excuse me for a second as I reprimand my son, okay?"
I slowly bob my head up and down in bemusement.
She asks him a question, but because I do not know an inkling of Japanese, I end up furrowing my eyebrows, wondering what she said to him.
"Just because," he answers her.
"Kare to issho ni nemashita ka?"
"Mum!" he exclaims, horrified by her words and in intrigue, I stare at their interaction wondering what she said to elicit that reaction from him.
"Answer the question."
After looking at me through his peripheral with his ears flushing in embarrassment, he shakes his head in response to his mother. "Kare wa betsu no shinshitsu de nemashita." At this new language coming from his lips, I stare at him in awe. Why is he more attractive?
The few sentences in English that I catch do not exactly put into context what they are speaking about. Maybe I should have gotten my mum to teach me Japanese. Then again, learning English, Korean and Japanese all at the same time does not seem enjoyable in the least. There is so much pressure with the two languages I am already obliged to learn.
I can imagine Halmeoni fuming at the fact that I decided to learn Japanese and not Cantonese. She would shame me for turning my back on her cultural background and denounce me as her grandson.
"Will you be joining us for breakfast, Seong Jin?" she asks me, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"Oh, I don't… want to impose."
"You wouldn't be imposing," she negates, waving a dismissive hand. Then she looks at Kai again and mutters almost scoldingly under her breath, "Onīsan wa okorudeshou."
"I don't really care about what Ismael thinks," he answers distractedly and even though I understand this time, it still makes me frown in confusion.
"Will you ever forgive him?"
"I have forgiven him."
"Have you?"
"Mm-hmm."
"I know how stubborn you are sometimes. You get it from your father. You both have so much pride." She purses her lips and shakes her head.
"Kai, I heard you woke up wanking," a familiar voice cuts into the conversation with a burst of loud laughter. Looking back over at the opening in the kitchen, I see his brother entering the room with the familiar Yorkshire Terrier in his arms.
Dismissively, Kai mutters, "Shut up, Fleance."
"Maan?" Fleance looks over at his mum pleadingly.
"Listen to your brother, Fleance."
His jaw drops in surprise.
Kai smiles in satisfaction.
"You a whole arse bitch, mate." Then he eventually looks at me and frowns in confusion. "What are you doing here?"
It's nice to be noticed.
Before I can respond, he adds, "And why are you wearing Kai's clothes?"
At first, he looks bemused, as if processing the situation in his head. It looks like it has not registered in his brain that I'm actually here in his house, early in the morning wearing his brother's clothes as he noted. I hope it doesn't look like what it would look like to me if I caught someone in my brother's clothes after spending the night at our house. Curiously, he looks back and forth between us and I can't help, turning a crimson colour at what he thinks I did with his brother when a noise of disgust leaves his lips.
"I think I feel something rising up inside me." With another gag, he turns around and rushes out of the kitchen.