"No reason?" Ashley arched her brow, observing the irritation bloom on her cousin's face as he reminisced about his unpleasant encounter.
Arthur, still shoving cake into his mouth as an emotional support food, once again recalled the situation with tightly squinted eyes. It was a usual office at first, and while he knew he was late, he had a legitimate reason for it. How would he to know the landing would be delayed because of bad weather? If he couldn't contact the other staff because he didn't have their numbers, was it really his fault?
No--even if he was late for something completely his fault, was it really right to suddenly glare at him with clear animosity?
"Hating me just because I'm an alpha is a bit much, don't you think?" he continued his grumble after wolfing down half of a whole cream cake, and then added quietly. "Damn alpha haters."
"Who are you even talking about?" Ashley leaned back and crossed her hands. "There's no such person in my team?"
"Is that omega in your team, too?" Arthur pursed his lips. "Black hair, green eyes, tall...tallest omega I've ever seen, probably."
"Pfft--" Ashley almost sprayed the water in her mouth. "What? Eugene Kim? Hates alpha? Are you sure?"
Arthur twisted his lips, feeling slightly offended by the doubt. "I'm pretty sure I can still recognize expression."
Ashley made a strange expression that was a mix of a stifled laugh and a spiking curiosity. "Are you sure you didn't piss him off somewhere else before this? Who knows..."
"Well..." Arthur tilted his head. "That...I can't really tell, can I?"
But, like...how could he offend someone when he just landed that day? He was pretty sure he wouldn't forget an omega that tall easily.
...even if he wouldn't be able to remember the face.
Anyway, that guy told Arthur that he was one of those alpha haters, so...that meant it wasn't because he did something. Right?
"Hmm..." Ashley tapped on her crossed arms, tilting her head in contemplation. "Anyway, I don't think Eugene Kim is the type who would hate someone because of their gender--first or second."
"How can you be so sure?" Arthur frowned. It was annoying how adamant his cousin was.
Shouldn't she be on his side?
But Ashley simply smiled and asked cryptically. "Have you read the manuscript?"
"Huh? You mean the one he made?" Arthur was caught off guard, averting his eyes like a child getting caught not doing his homework. "Not yet, but I planned to read it before the shooting finishes--I still have a lot of time, right?"
"Might be good for you to read it now," Ashley said.
"Why? What does it have to do with--"
"Goodness!"
Their conversation was halted by a voice from the side door, which was connected to the dining room. An old man with age-defying, thick curly hair that seemed to run in the family. His pale but energetic eyes glanced at the dining table.
"You're gobbling up everything already?"
The old man said it like a grumble, but Arthur could see the edge of his lips curled up slightly beneath his grey mustache.
"I know, right? I told him he could make a living as a food fighter," Ashley said with a laugh while gathering the empty dishes. She flicked her finger at the guy who had devoured a buffet enough for a whole family of six in one sitting. "Hey, how about doing OurTube or something? What is it called again?"
"Mukbang."
Ashley gasped when the answer came from the old man instead of her younger cousin. "How do you know, Grandpa?"
"Your Grandma loves to watch that," the old man said with a light shrug.
Ashley widened her eyes. "She is?!"
"I have no intention of switching careers," Arthur placed the empty dishes on the sink and turned on the faucet.
"How boring," Ashley clicked her tongue while wiping the dining table.
Ignoring his cousin, Arthur rolled his sleeves and glanced at the old man standing in front of the water dispenser. "How've you been, Grandpa?"
"Not rusty," the old man replied while looking at the empty dishes with pride. "What about you?"
"Hmm..." Arthur tilted his head. "Cooking only for myself feels...different."
"So why are you moving out, huh?" the old man grumbled, surprising Arthur with a second attack. "If you want to move out, at least have someone to live with you first."
"Whoaa~" Ashley covered her mouth with two hands. "That's very modern of you, Grandpa!"
Arthur rolled his eyes, feeling wronged. "Ugh--why do you keep bringing up that topic, Gramps? Don't you get bored?"
"I'd get bored once you bring someone!" the old man pointed at Arthur with his hand, voice rising. "Look at you! You're almost thirty, but you haven't brought even one person here! Are you going to waste the good looks I passed on to you?"
Arthur scoffed. "What are you even on? I clearly got this from Grandma."
"This ungrateful brat!"
The old man smacked Arthur's back, the sound echoing in the kitchen, blending with the running water and the scrubbing from the man who couldn't move because he was holding a slippery plate.
"Ouch!" Arthur whined when more smacks came to his back, tickling his muscles. Didn't stop him from screaming bloody murder. "This is abuse! This is abuse!"
And that rewarded him with another smack at the back of his head.
"Stop screaming when my child is sleeping."
"Abuse, I told you!"
He said that, but he was also laughing in between, retaliating at his Grandpa and cousin with a threat of soap water. Ah...he did miss this place--if only his Grandpa stopped asking him about his relationship. Was it an elderly trait to be nosy about that? Arthur had no idea.
"Hey, set him up with some people again, won't you?" the old man kicked Ashley's calf lightly once they were done with the dishes and moved out to the patio with hot cocoa in their hands. "Some quality ones."
Arthur, who thought the topic was already passed, stomped his feet sulkily. "Ah, stop that already! I'm a full-fledged adult now!"
"Then bring someone! Omega, Beta--I don't even care if you bring an Alpha," the old man clicked his tongue.
"Oh, come on! You already have a grandchild--and another one is incoming."
"Who told you to bring me grandchildren? I told you to bring a partner. A partner!"
"Why do you want me to have a partner if you don't want grandchildren?"
"Gosh, this kid," Ashley smacked the back of Arthur's head again. "Of course, it's because Grandpa doesn't want you to end up alone."
The old man, however, denied it with a scoff. "I said no such thing."
"You're too old to act shy, Grandpa," Ashley rolled her eyes.
"Whatever," the old man frowned as if feeling offended, before pointing his finger at Arthur again. "Just bring someone I can feed!"
And with that, he trudged back inside, leaving his grandchildren on the patio.
"I came here after six years and got hit by a storm," Arthur groaned, thinking about the cigarette he left behind in his new apartment.
"Well...he's not wrong, you know." Ashley shrugged, leaning back while sipping her chocolate.
Arthur frowned. "Don't start."
"I won't say anything if you're not interested in having a relationship," Ashley said. "But that wasn't the case, right?"
And their grandfather probably thought the same thing. If Arthur had decided to be an eternal bachelor, he could do it, and they wouldn't say anything. But when someone who was prone to loneliness said he would live alone?
Of course, they would be worried.
On the other hand, Ashley also knew why it was hard for Arthur to find someone. No--to be exact, it was hard for him to be with anyone when someone already occupied his mind.
Ashley glanced at her cousin, who suddenly went silent. "Are you going to keep looking?"
"I'll do what I want," Arthur said defensively.
"It's been six years."
"Shut up."
"Okay, okay~" Ashley raised her hands--with the mug--in surrender. "But things like this...you gotta put a time limit to it, you know?"
"...I know."
Arthur stared at his mug in resignation. Even he knew looking for someone for more than five years was a bit...obsessive. Ashley flashed a pitiful smile and tapped her cousin's shoulder in encouragement. "I'll switch with Grandma so you can talk to her."
Sighing, Arthur watched his drink cool down for a little bit before deciding it would be too cold for their grandmother to stay outside in the middle of a winter night. He closed the patio door just as his grandmother's step entered the living room.
"Grandma!"
"My baby," the old woman reached out to cup Arthur's cold cheek, prompting a bright smile to bloom in the handsome face.
Arthur grinned widely and hugged her tight. "I thought Sammy is your baby, now?"
"All of you are my babies," she said with a calm chuckle, before stepping back to observe her grandson thoroughly. "Hmm...it seems like you've been feeding yourself well."
Arthur almost choked at the leftover chocolate flavor in his mouth as his grandmother nodded at him in approval. Oh, he'd climb the stairmaster until his legs wobbled tomorrow. For sure.
But tonight, he had the privilege of being the youngest grandson.
"Grandma, they're bullying me," Arthur pouted--something he could only do because Ashley wasn't there to immortalize it for his embarrassment.
"I heard it all," she laughed softly. Seemed like they were boisterous enough for their voices to be heard from the second floor. Oops. "Don't mind your Grandfather. He means well."
Arthur smiled. "I know."
Of course, he knew. He might found it difficult to call this house his true home, but he never doubted that these people were his family. Family who always thought about his well-being.
"Do whatever you want. You're still young, you have time to explore a lot of things and meet a lot of people. Just..." her kind, honey eyes looked at him with the warmth of a summer sun. Warmth he could feel in his hands, which were gently in her hold. "You know you can always return if you find trouble, right?"
"Yes," Arthur nodded, not just out of obedience. "I know, Grandma."
"Good," she caressed his head, and Arthur allowed himself to feel like a child again.
"I'll visit often," he whispered.
"That's good."
With a lighter heart, forgetting about all of the unpleasant stuff he experienced that day, Arthur continued his chat with his grandmother while doing some meal prep for his cousin's wife. It took him almost two hours, and he received a 'reward' when he was about to leave.
"Hey, catch!"
Arthur caught what Ashley threw before it hit the car--or worse, the pile of snow on the ground. He stared at the thing in his hand: a thick, banded document, rolled and tied with a hairtie so it would be easier to throw.
"What is this?"
"The manuscript," Ashley said. "Read it before the next meeting."
"Wait--I have to be there again?" Arthur widened his eyes, ready to protest, but his cousin already walked back toward the warm house while waving her hand.
"Read it!"
Ugh...