"Whoo! Okay, Nari you're up!" Nari's sister called from a distance. Realising she couldn't hear her, she made a big wave with her arms, letting the girl know they're waiting.
Sliding her ski mask down, Nari quickly positioned her legs before taking off down the slope, disappearing from sight before rising up the other end. As gravity gifted her a small moment in the air, she took off into a spin, looking so effortless it made her siblings roll their eyes as if she was showing off.
A ski trip during peak time was a tradition in their family even before Nari was born but in the last few years, as each of the siblings grew older, family time became more scarce. So instead, they made a deal with each other to meet at least once a year, to do something they all liked without their parents around.
Because only then, would two out of the three of them finally attend a so-called 'family event'.
After what felt like a month's workout packed into a day, Nari felt every muscle in her body relax as she climbed into a warm bath.
Without drying her hair properly, she slumped onto the soft bed, staring at the ceiling somewhat satisfied with the day before the door to her room slid open with no warning. That itself was enough for her to know who it was.
"What?"
Rather than an answer straight away, there were sounds of someone shouting into their mic as her brother laughed, spitting back insults that seemed to just roll off his tongue.
She rolled her eyes and sat up, "oh my god, what do you want?"
Looking like he was still immersed in the game, Rowan shot her a seemingly harmless question. "Nothing, I was just curious how university's going."
"It's alright.. why?" Nari asked, suspicious of what he was trying to get out of her.
"Just asking, you dating anyone?"
"No."
"What about that girl we saw last time?"
"Why are you asking about that?"
"I'm just curious, oh, I died, tch." Rowan clicked his tongue before sitting on the edge of Nari's bed with a hard to judge look on his face, in the sense Nari was sure he was trying to be smug but it didn't look like it. "So..."
"No."
"Why not?"
Nari shot him an annoyed look then threw a pillow at him. Why was he asking so many questions about something she didn't want to talk or think about? And how did he just manage to pick the one and only topic that would ruin all the happiness and peace she felt for the day?
"None of your business, get out I need to dry my hair." She said, quickly ushering him out of the room.
"What— Dude, wait—" Being met with the door slammed in his face, Rowan scratched his head. "What the hell's her problem?"
-
Although Doyoung had a feeling he was already sick a few days ago, he tried to brush it off in an attempt to not ruin the new years but the more he tried to maintain his regular routines with a lack of sleep, the quicker the cold eventually caught up to him, manifesting itself in the form on a high fever.
Waking up with a blocked nose and his head pounding, he decided to cancel the plans he had for the day before checking the time, realising he had only slept for five hours.
After countless attempts trying to fall back asleep, including listening to music which made him feel like he was just overstimulating his brain, he finally gathered the strength to get out of bed. Though it was warm, his body felt like it was freezing in or out so he didn't even attempt to put on any more layers as he stumbled to the living room.
I should eat something then go back to sleep..
Remembering his fridge was empty as he'd been out of the house the last few days, Doyoung felt all the remaining energy in his body disperse as he sank into the soft couch.
He couldn't remember when exactly he fell asleep again but the sun had already begun to set when the sound of the doorbell rung in his ears. Thinking it was just a delivery, he closed his eyes again, waiting for them to leave. Hearing another ring, Doyoung forced himself up, mumbling as he made his way to the front door, "who would be here right now..?"
The front door brought with it the merciless winter breeze alongside a faint scent of cologne coming from the man stood in front of it.
"What are you doing here?"
"Taking care of you, what else?"
"What? Why?"
Jumin frowned. "What do you mean why? You're sick."
"But I thought—" Doyoung paused as he felt a hand against his forehead. When was the last time someone took care of him when he was sick?
"Did you take your temperature yet?"
"…"
"What?"
"Ah.. no, I haven't..." He mumbled as Jumin set a bag down on the kitchen counter, the smell of Mrs Lee's cooking was strong enough for his nose to make sense of for a split second. He took a seat as Jumin popped the food into the microwave, zoning out before the sound of someone's phone vibrating against the counter jolted him back into reality. "..."
Honestly, his whole body was on the verge of shutting down, his head was burning and his throat was on fire so Doyoung thought that was the worst state he'd be in but when that wave of a feeling similar to betrayal washed over him, he suddenly felt ten times worse.
"Did you have plans today?" Doyoung spoke slowly as if his head didn't understand what he was talking about.
"No."
"Really?"
Realising his phone was next to Doyoung, Jumin shrugged. "We didn't confirm it or anything so don't worry about it."
"You should go, I can do the rest myself."
Unfortunately no part of Doyoung's body was cooperating with his stubbornness. Feeling light-headed from standing up too quickly, he grabbed the counter before he could completely lose his balance.
Jumin raised a brow then turned back to the microwave that had now started to beep. "No, my mum would kill me if I leave you like this."
After a full stomach, it felt like his brain was finally starting to work, with its first command being going back to sleep. But maybe his head wasn't fully functioning as it was struggling to distinguish between what he should and shouldn't say out loud.
Pulling the blanket over the other, Jumin felt a hand grabbing onto his as he turned to leave.
"Hey."
"Yeah?"
"Don't date her."
"Huh?"
"Please. I don't want to be alone again."
Before he could ask what Doyoung meant, the other had already drifted off to sleep. But truth be told, he probably already knew.
Loosening Doyoung's grasps on him, something else caught Jumin's eyes as he adjusted the blanket. A desk that was normally empty apparent from a monitor and a pc now had a notebook laying on its side.
What's all this?
Property law? Why...
Flipping through it, Jumin noticed a few sticky notes with a completely different handwriting, one of which was signed with a name and an encouraging comment.
"Kim Sooyoung... why does that sound so familiar..." Jumin mumbled, taking a moment to remember it was a friend of Minju's who had recently started tutoring as a side hustle. Realising he had misunderstood something, he felt like he shouldn't be relieved but he couldn't help it.
-
Doyoung and the twins met in high school and their story wasn't at all extraordinary. They happened to be placed in the same class, spoke a few times and eventually became friends, to put in the simplest terms.
Though it didn't exactly happen as smoothly as you would think. For some reason, at their school it was common for people to split into groups depending on which middle school they attended.
Doyoung already knew a lot of people, not just from his school but others too whilst the twins came from a highly selective school. But that didn't mean they got outcasted, rather it was the opposite. Once word got out, they pretty much became gods to the smart students and teachers, and Doyoung surprisingly.
Jumin's desk mate had been staring at him a lot lately - during lessons, breaks, lunches and even self study times. What's odd was that they didn't really talk much but he seemed to pop up everywhere he was lately. It was obvious there was something he wanted to say but he just never did. And one time, after countless stares and glances and the awkward clearing of his throat after getting caught, he finally snapped at him.
"What do you want?"
Doyoung's eyes widened before he stammered. "Oh, it's just I heard you went to S middle school… I was just wondering if.. Um…"
Jumin raised his brows as if hurrying him up but it seemed like the guy's brain had just shut down all of a sudden as he just stared at him blankly. He sighed, "if?"
"If.. you knew anyone on the basketball team?"
Why is he asking like he doesn't know what he's talking about?
Jumin nodded with a somewhat impatient look. His composure however, like many others, were useless the moment Doyoung's eyes lit up like that of a puppy's, strangely making him the one who was now flustered.
"Really? That's awesome! There's this person I've been trying to find since middle school but I never even knew her name but I know she went to your school so I was wondering if you knew her?"
"Seo Younghee." Minju, who was dropping off their notebooks, interrupted. It was obvious who Doyoung was talking about, because he wasn't the only one who had remembered what she was like during that one game. She honestly didn't know why she had told him and felt like she blurted out the name without thinking.
From then on, Doyoung stuck to them more and more. The twins thought it was because of his interest in Younghee and at first, they may have been right because he'd ask if they knew anything about her often but that soon died down. He wasn't as smart as them nor were they as athletic as him but getting along was easy when they were willing to do things with each other and willing to put in the time. For no particular reason other than because they were friends.
Besides, Doyoung had a personality that just attracted people to him, romantically and platonically due to his friendliness. He was also very open and often easy to read, making teasing him fun so the 'obsession' with Younghee quickly became an inside joke.
It was a particularly hot afternoon when Jumin had decided to sit physical education out after feeling nauseous. They were coming close to mock season so he had pulled two all nighters in a row and hadn't eaten enough so just a bit of movement tired him out. With his head resting against the desk, he could hear his classmates running around in the sun and wished time would go by faster so he could go home.
After lying down for so long however, his neck was starting to get sore and his mind was racing to mind something to keep itself from falling asleep. Jumin sat up and massaged his neck, looking out the window subconsciously when someone caught his eyes.
Down on the field was the rest of his class playing soccer in the blazing heat. At this point, everything and everyone was blending together but one person was still clear. Doyoung gave a surprised look as their eyes met but was quick to smile as he struck the ball into the goal.
With a proud smile, he looked up again just to see Jumin wasn't there anymore.
"Where did he go?"
-
Doyoung snapped his eyes open, his body breaking out into a sweat as if he had a nightmare. The relief that entered his body was paired with a heavy exhale as he looked over to Jumin who was asleep against the wall. As hard as it was to keep his eyes open when his body was practically begging him to go back to sleep, he ended up staring at him for a long time.
It was unclear if it was Jumin's survival instincts that woke him up because Doyoung's stare was so intense, it could've been a predator or maybe because the position he was in was getting uncomfortable but he slowly blinked awake.
"Why are you studying property law?" He asked in-between a yawn.
"I was thinking of interning at my parents' firm during the summer."
"Huh? But you said you didn't want to work for them before."
"I know, I just think maybe it's time to get serious. I wasn't really thinking about the future back then and said some things I probably didn't mean."
Jumin squeezed his hands that had been clasped together. To him who knew Doyoung so well, he knew this meant Doyoung really did have someone he likes.
Otherwise there's no way you would be thisserious.
-
Before the season can truly transform into spring, there was still a special day in February, waiting to be celebrated. As flights came and went on the eve of valentine's day, an airport once again welcomed Harin home.
Waiting for her cab, the constant scenes of couples reuniting played out in front of her eyes but that wasn't why she came back. Though February 14th may be valentine's day, it was also Ari's birthday.
As the driver loaded her luggage into the car, a bitter smile appeared on her face when she felt the phone in her hand vibrate.
Younghee: I'm not home, take her out to celebrate for me
: Where are you?
Younghee: Don't worry about it