ENTHRALL° s.th

002

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PARK RESIDENCE
DINNER
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✧──────✦ one year later

jaehwa sat at the dinner table that was way too large for their family. at one end sat her father, and at the other, sat her mother, her younger sister across from her. the clinking of dishware and utensils was the only noise being produced from the pitiful 'family' dinners.

she had never liked them. the dinners were a weekly thing that made her parents think that they were succeeding at taking care of their children. but one thing that made jaehwa confused, was that it was six in the afternoon on a tuesday. they ate like this on wednesdays at seven in the afternoon. never earlier, never later.

her questions were answered when her father set down his utensils. 6:05. thirty minutes too early. jaehwa watched as her father took hold of his wine glass and took a small sip although he was a whiskey type of man. he set it down and cleared his throat.

"how were your days today girls?" his deep voice sounded through the dining room.

jaehwa let her younger sister, mina, answer first. "my day was normal father, and yours?" it was a normal question, yet jaehwa could still hear the disbelief in her tone.

"mine was nothing special as well, jaehwa?" he turned to her.

"my day was quite normal." she answered as politely as possible. "mother?"

"all is well, darling." her mother answered half heartedly as she looked into her glass of wine. it was a white wine, not a red wine like usual.

it wasn't until jaehwa counted the seconds of silence up to twenty three, when her father spoke again. "your mother and i have a business trip to go on soon."

usually a note on the counter would do just fine. "for how long?" jaehwa's curiosity got the best of her.

"around a year or so." her father answered. jaehwa made eye contact with her sister. "that's why we had our family night a day early. your mother and i wished to discuss your plans."

jaehwa continued to look at her younger sister, who now had her hands in her lap.

"you will be staying with your grandmother, from my side." said her mother. they had never met either side of the family. so they were going to drop them off at a strangers place and leave.
nice.

"where does she live?" mina asked.

"daegu." her father responded rather quickly. jaehwa didn't mind the change of scenery, but her sister was more reluctant. mina had tons of friends and a whole social circle here, while jaehwa stuck with a few that she never got to know that well.

"but father, can't i just stay here with a friend?" mina whined a little. jaehwa knew she was trying to pull the cute card. who wouldn't in this situation.

"no." her mother set down her glass of wine and stood up from the table to walk away. before she exited, she turned around and spoke, "pack your things tonight, you'll be leaving tomorrow at noon."

her father left the table as well, which caused mina to stand up and go to her room, leaving a nearly full plate. jaehwa finally felt comfortable at the empty dinner table, and ate until she felt content.

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THE NEXT DAY
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jaehwa sat on her bed and remembered the conversation from last night. if she had to describe it, she would say that she was a little excited. this place made her sick.