Yoonhee felt as if time slowed down when she saw the man who entered through the front door. With fair skin and hair of moderate length slightly covering his forehead, the tall man dressed head to toe in what seemed like luxury fashion smiled warmly at her.
"Hello, you must be Yoonhee? I've heard a lot about you."
Yoonhee's heart, which had been beating slowly, suddenly raced. She couldn't even stand up and stutteringly pointed at Geon with her finger.
"K-K-K-K-Kay?"
After smiling softly, Geon turned to Jiie, who sat demurely with her head slightly bowed.
"Hi Jiie, what's up with you?"
Jiie twisted her body, looking uncomfortable.
"Hello, brother."
"Is something wrong? It's not like you to be like this."
"No, I'm just naturally a reserved girl."
"What do you mean by that?"
Shihwa approached and linked arms with Geon, laughing.
"Don't mind her. High school girls and drama queens are unpredictable. Are you hungry? Let's have some chicken."
As Geon looked at Jiie with a puzzled expression and moved towards the dining table, Shihwa said,
"Yoonhee, Jiie, come on. Let's eat before it gets cold."
As Jiie got up quickly, Yoonhee hastily grabbed her arm and whispered,
"Hey, do you know Kay brother?"
Jiie looked down at Yoonhee with a smug expression.
"I told you so. You're going to regret it. Hehe."
Yoonhee frowned and said,
"Are you crazy? No, no. This isn't a dream, right?"
"What dream? I told you Kay lives next door. Why didn't you believe me?"
Yoonhee whispered to Jiie, nodding towards Geon who was pulling out a chair at the table.
"Would you believe it? You should explain it more clearly, not just suddenly say Kay lives next door. Who would believe that, silly girl!"
Jiie shook off Yoonhee's grip.
"I don't know, I told you. I want to spend even a second more with Geon brother, so let go."
Yoonhee gripped Jiie's arm tighter and said,
"This isn't a dream, right? I'm really in the same house as Kay?"
Jiie struggled out of Yoonhee's grip and whispered,
"Let go! It's not Kay, it's Geon brother. Why would a Korean be called Kay? Let go!"
Jiie broke free from Yoonhee's hold and ran to the table. Left alone on the sofa, Yoonhee stared blankly at Geon, who was sitting at the table and receiving chicken from Shihwa.
"Yoonhee, aren't you eating? Come on."
"Ah! Yes, yes! Sister, let's go!"
Yoonhee sprinted to the table, and the serious chicken-eating began. Jiie teasingly offered a plump drumstick to Geon.
"Brother, have a leg~"
Shihwa smacked Jiie's hand away.
"My brother doesn't eat legs. He's been a breast meat guy since he was little."
Yoonhee quickly grabbed a piece of breast meat and offered it to Geon.
"Brother, here. Have this."
"Ah, thank you. Yoonhee, you eat too."
As their hands brushed while passing the chicken, Yoonhee blushed and fidgeted with her hands. Jiie also stopped and fixed her gaze on Geon's face, setting down the drumstick. Shihwa chuckled and said,
"Yoonhee, when did you start saying chicken was a gift from the gods? Why aren't you eating? Jiie, you sang all morning about buying chicken, eat up."
Startled, Yoonhee and Jiie hurriedly brought chicken to their mouths, and Geon also began to eat, smiling. However, noticing Geon's reactions, they barely ate, picking at their food. Shihwa then said,
"Jiie, when you were eating tteokbokki at the street stall by the apartment entrance last time, you devoured it like you hadn't eaten in days. What's with you today?"
Jiie, startled, set down her chicken and said,
"Oh my! Sister? When did I do that... I usually don't eat much..."
"Seriously, I saw you eat three servings of tteokbokki alone. In 10 minutes?"
"Ahaha~ Sister... you and your jokes. I can't even finish one serving of tteokbokki by myself."
"Playing around, Yoonhee! I've seen you eat cafeteria pork cutlets without cutting them, just stabbing them with a fork and eating them whole."
Yoonhee was startled and said,
"Oh! Sister... that time, the knife wasn't cutting well..."
Shihwa put her hands on her hips and shook her head.
"Not cutting well so you eat it whole? Look at you girls, all pretense. That's why you shouldn't fall for girls' pretenses, Geon. Got it?"
Geon, eating his chicken, laughed.
"Why? Both are nice and pretty."
As Geon complimented them, Yoonhee blushed and bowed her head, while Jiie beamed and acted coyly.
"Right? Right? Our Geon brother really knows how to appreciate women."
Shihwa playfully slapped Jiie on the back of her head.
"Quit joking around. Eat your chicken."
The meal resumed, but both Yoonhee and Jiie only picked at their food. Shihwa sighed and suddenly said to Jiie,
"By the way, Jiie, didn't you tell your uncle you wanted to sing? Are you interested in music?"
Jiie glared at Yoonhee with a hint of embarrassment.
"Sister! It was supposed to be a secret."
Geon laughed.
"I know about it too. We've seen each other there, haven't we?"
Shihwa and Yoonhee looked at Jiie in surprise. Jiie shyly smiled, and Shihwa asked,
"Geon, you know Jiie's uncle? How?"
"Yeah, I recorded the drama OST in Jiie's uncle's studio."
"Really? Wow, talk about fate. Amazing."
Geon asked Jiie,
"So, you want to pursue music?"
Jiie nodded shyly.
"Yes, I want to go to a music college."
"Which one are you thinking of applying to?"
"Well..."
"Where?"
"Ju, Juilliard..."
Shihwa's eyes widened.
"Juilliard? That's where geniuses go. Are you that good?"
Jiie looked slightly less confident.
"Not yet, but I'm practicing hard..."
Geon smiled and patted Jiie on the back.
"That's fine. There's nothing you can't do if you work hard. Give it your best shot."
Jiie's face lit up.
"Right, brother?"
"But, can you speak English?"
Jiie's face fell instantly.
"I... I just want to sing... I don't like studying."
Geon's expression turned serious for a moment. Shihwa and Yoonhee caught the change in mood and watched quietly, as did Jiie, feeling the atmosphere shift. Geon then spoke,
"Jiie, it's important to do what you love. But to achieve that, sometimes you have to do things you don't like. That applies to everything in life. If you're serious about music and want to study abroad, not just in Korea, you'll have to study, even if you don't like it."
Geon gently ruffled Jiie's hair as he spoke warmly,
"Wouldn't it be nice if we could only do what we wanted? But those who are doing what they love have gone through many things they didn't want to do. You can do it too, right?"
Jiie, feeling Geon's comforting touch, let out a content sound.
"Aww, yes, brother. I'll work hard. Including studying English."
Geon nodded.
"You don't have to go to Juilliard. You can get good lessons in Korea too. So don't push yourself too hard."
"Okay, brother. I'll do that."
Shihwa looked back and forth between Geon and Jiie, then said,
"What's this, brother? You sound like a real adult."
Geon flashed a grin, and Shihwa took a sip of cola before saying,
"By the way, brother, are you going to Busan tomorrow?"
"Yes, I'm planning to leave in the morning."
Jiie quickly asked,
"Busan, brother? Why are you going there? A concert?"
Geon shook his head.
"No, I'm leaving the country in about ten days. I need to re-enroll in school. Before that, I want to visit my grandparents' memorial."
"Oh, have they both passed?"
"Yes, I never met my grandfather. My dad said he passed away over 40 years ago when my dad was a teenager."
"That's early... So your grandmother raised your father alone?"
"Not just my father. There were also two uncles and twin aunts below him, five in total."
"That's impressive... When did your grandmother pass?"
"About a year ago, when I was a sergeant."
"I see..."
Yoonhee quietly listened to their conversation, quickly replenishing Geon's plate with fresh chicken whenever it emptied. Shihwa glanced at Yoonhee, then asked Geon,
"So, how are you getting there? Riding something like the KTX would make you too recognizable, what will you do?"
Geon took out his motorcycle keys and twirled them.
"I'll be riding my bike."
"What? It's a long way to Busan on a motorcycle. That's dangerous."
"It's fine. I'll be taking the national roads, so it'll be a nice trip to take it easy and enjoy the scenery."
"That's risky... Does mom know?"
"Yeah, she knows. She was against it, but what can we do? There's no car, and the KTX is too much of a hassle."
"Make sure you don't just stay anywhere on the way. Find a good place, with good security."
"Ha, got it."
Yoonhee, having listened to Shihwa and Geon's conversation, hesitated before asking,
"So, brother, when will you be back?"
Geon looked at the calendar on the wall and replied,
"Let's see... I'll stay at my grandmother's house for about two days, and it'll take two days each for the trip down and back. So, it should be about six days later."
"Both of them have passed, but the house is still there?"
"Yes, there's still some stuff left to sort out, and the house we put up for sale hasn't sold yet, so it's still there."
"So... you'll have about four days before you leave the country after you come back?"
"Yeah, probably."
Shihwa suddenly squinted her eyes and interjected,
"Hey, Yoonhee? If our brother goes abroad, it'll be hard even for our family to see him. We need to spend family time together, so don't butt in, okay?"
Yoonhee blushed and quickly said,
"Oh, no, sister, I didn't mean it like that..."
Shihwa glanced back and forth between a sulking Jiie and Yoonhee, sighed, and then said to Geon,
"Brother, just take one day off. These kids seem to be fans and want to spend time with you. I've known them for a long time; they're good kids. Their dad isn't around, and our dad helps them out with things, so we're close neighbors. Let's just spend a day at home doing nothing special. Can you spare that time?"
Geon nodded nonchalantly,
"Sure, that's fine."
Yoonhee and Jiie, who had been looking at Geon with hopeful eyes, cheered. Shihwa pompously declared,
"From today onwards, you two worship this sister as a deity. Do so, and I shall grant you a day with Kay."
Yoonhee and Jiie got off their chairs, knelt on the floor, and performed a bow in jest,
"Oh deity! We believe!"
Geon watched the trio's lively antics with a smile.
His eyes then caught a family photo across the table. In the photo, an elderly grandmother sat in the front with Geon's father, uncles, and aunts standing behind her, all smiling brightly.
The grandmother's crinkly but joyful expression, enjoying the moment with her children, deepened Geon's gaze.
'I miss you, Grandma. I'll visit soon.'