After entering the warm house, Hirvan felt like his body was no longer cold, and his frozen hands tingled from the sudden heat. Changing his shoes, Hirvan found himself faced with two options.
'Would it be better to go to my room or follow Mrs. Smith to make peace?'
Hirvan moved his tired body and turned left after some contemplation.
The family was all at home, watching a campus idol drama since it was almost lunchtime and Sunday.
" Why is she so stupid? Who would believe she had no ulterior motives? Can't you see how pretentious she is? It is screaming green tea!"
Sheryl, the daughter, voiced her dissatisfaction with the protagonist in the drama.
The little boy nodded his head in agreement.
Mrs. Smith gave her daughter some oranges and spoke softly.
" Come on, eat it. Don't be angry."
Hirvan's gaze was caught by this picture-perfect and harmonious family upon entering the living room, causing him to feel awkward and unsure of what to say.
'Would it be appropriate for me to kneel and ask for forgiveness? Or Acting cute like my Yuze when he did something wrong? How should I behave in front of my mother?'
In the middle of thinking, A rumbling sound from Hirvan's stomach caused everything in the house to shake. From last night in the club, Hirvan had not eaten anything. Noticing all their gazes were on him, his face turned red due to embarrassment.
Mrs Smith's anger decreased when she saw the sorry figure of her son, and she felt guilty for that slapping. She got up from her seat and went to the kitchen.
After preparing a chicken sandwich in the kitchen, she put it on the dining table with a bag of frozen peas.
" put it on your cheek."
Noticing her care, Hirvan guessed that their relationship was not in jeopardy, and she had forgiven him.
" Thank you."
Hirvan whispered and sat down, eating quickly with one hand while holding the frozen bag on his red, painful face.
Mrs Smith, with the corner of her eyes, was watching her son when her heart thumped.
' It's okay… even if…'
She thought to herself.
After eating his fill, his body relaxed, and all the exhaustion from the journey rushed to his head. Hirvan became drowsy, and it was difficult to keep his eyes open.
While patting his stomach, he headed to the second floor dazedly and opened every room's door to find his room. Even though he had slept once before in this house, his mind was not in the right place to remember correctly.
Finally, after much effort, he succeeded and placed his exhausted body on the bed, facing downwards.
Downstairs, Sheryl whispered to her mother.
" What is he doing? Why is there so much noise from opening and closing doors?"
Mrs Smith, while watching television replied absentmindedly.
"Maybe he's looking for something he lost."
From where her daughter couldn't see, she tightly grasped the edge of her clothes.
**********
Hirvan felt rejuvenated in the evening after having slept enough.
He carefully examined his room. Before visiting his sons, he was in a rush to leave the hospital and find his way to the city. Therefore, he neglected his room and surroundings or reflected on the family and future of the original body.
Right now, he had to gather all the information about this person as same as his name. Fortunately, There have been occasional flashes of memories in his mind in the past two weeks. Otherwise, he would be in a pinch.
Looking at his room, he tried to find more clues about him. The most eye-catching sight was posters of handsome buffy men in briefs showing their six-packs and mermaid lines on the walls. His eyebrows twitched as he glanced at them.
' tsk. His taste was quite different from mine!
He stretched his hand and took them all down.
The room became more pleasing to Hirvan after he dealt with the eyesore. Searching bedside tables, he found many yellow magazines, touching them accidentally made him feel dirty.
" Knock, knock!"
A knocking sound suddenly erupted in the room.
With a fright, Hirvan slammed the drawer shut with a bang, feeling awkward for being caught in an indecent act.
As the door opened, a small head with curly hair peeked into the room.
" Big brother! Mum said to come down for dinner!"
A milky shy voice was heard from the little boy.
Hirvan's eyes softened seeing the boy and he responded with gentleness.
" Okay. Thank you for coming up to get me. Bradly."
The boy's expression changed from fear to shock. He nodded and ducked behind the door.
Hirvan chuckled and thought the boy's reaction was cute.
After freshening up, he went to the kitchen and overheard accidentally the talk between the older woman and the daughter.
" Mum, For how long do you want to cater for his unreasonable demands? Take a look at the boxes that were delivered today. What is with these strange clothes? You are a successful designer and yet, he has bought from other brands!
Do you know what they call him in the neighbourhood? This is the result of your indulgences! Like that time! It wasn't your fault that shameless guy hit on you!"
" Sheryl, you don't understand. Your brother's behaviour in these years was all the result of my wrong judgment and decision."
" What do you mean?"
Sheryl's expression turned to puzzlement.
" I can't say anything. Maybe when you are an adult, you will realise that your mother is not the angel you have imagined."
" Mum if you are talking about father's death, you shouldn't blame yourself."
Anna Smith stopped talking and pressed her lips in worry. The shadow of her older son was visible from the corner of her eyes.
" Hirvan, honey, come here quickly, the food will turn cold. Where is your brother? Didn't he get you?"
" Yes, he did. But he ran away after."
Hirvan grabbed a chair and sat down calmly, not showing any emotion on his face that he was caught in eavesdropping.
The original sister, Sheryl, glanced at him with resentment and contempt.
"What did you do to him this time? You can not stay put for a minute without hurting others."
She stood up and walked out of the kitchen angrily.
Anna shook her head anxiously as she glanced at her son's expression. No matter how many times she lectured her daughter to be patient and not provoke her older brother, it was not effective. Sheryl still had a strong reaction to Hirvan's behaviour.
It was not feasible to reveal the truth to her daughter at the moment.
Anna took a deep breath and asked Hirvan.
"Did you have a good time in the city? How were your aunt and Alec doing?"
"Yes, That was so much fun. I went to a well-known club and saw some extremely handsome guys! Alec was both kind and helpful, and as always Aunt made me feel welcome."
Hirvan thought 'Of course, My handsome sons were icons of that club.'
Mrs Smith forced a small smile. From the moment her son left for Astra City until his return, she was on pins and needles. She had reached out to her friend in a desperate attempt to watch her son. She failed miserably as a mother.
" What is for dinner?"
The gentle voice of her son brought her out of her gloomy state of mind.
Mrs Smith clapped her hands and said with a joyful tone to her son.
" Ah, I made your favourite! Pork chop with pineapple sauce!"
Hirvan didn't take Sheryl's remark to heart. Seeing the unhappy atmosphere around the mother, he attempted to lighten up the awkward situation. However, the response he received made a crack in his calm face. First, he was allergic to pineapple and had an unpleasant experience with it. Second, he hated pork. Even the smell would trigger a retching response from him.