granny

1// arrival

disclaimer: i don't own any of the idols that make an appearance here and i'm not assuming their sexuality. this is purely for entertainment purposes. also, this genre (?) is not my usual style but i still hope you enjoy this highly experimental book

awkward. that's the word minho would use to call this. he didn't even know why he was here but he could feel the butterflies fluttering in his stomach. was visiting grandparents supposed to be this flustering?

he rang the bell and waited, holding his stuff in a small bag in one hand as he eyed the porch distractedly. strangely enough, he remembered this only vaguely: the enormous orange-yellowy house with its big windows with oak frames, the massive wooden door, the shed in the yard and all those plants.

minho turned around to look at the flower bushes. maybe the old woman was slow, or maybe she wasn't sure if she heard the bell or not and he knelt to smell the roses, preparing emotionally to ring again. this village was so godforsaken that he thought all the flowers would smell heavenly.

only one bus per week. what even was this place? it probably had no more than 50 people living around. if it wasn't in his grandparents' house, minho would most probably avoid staying here at all costs.

the invitation was odd too. it was somewhat unsettling to get invited to a faraway village by a grandma you never knew right after your adoptive father dies. but then again, minho thought he might have to be her person of comfort after the loss. and he was okay with it.

suddenly, the door opened with a bang and a lanky silhouette cast its shadow upon him from behind.

"hello, grandson. i've been expecting you," a scratchy female voice chimed and he turned around to bow to an elderly woman with grey hair and sagging skin.

"hello, granny, it's nice to see you," minho smiled and stepped closer to her, waiting to be led into the house. though she looked tiny, minho realised now that she was actually taller than him.

she walked in with an ear-to-ear plastered smile and started going upstairs. the house smelled of something unpleasant, like rotten fruits or old unclean furniture but minho took a breath in and tried to get used to it. he couldn't complain since he was only staying here for some weeks.

he trailed behind her and was going to go up the creaking narrow staircase right after the old woman but he caught a glimpse of something with his peripheral and turned around a little. another figure, even taller, was there, next to the door to the kitchen and he gulped when he saw it.

"um.. hi grandpa," minho mumbled a greeting, still in shock over the noiseless apparition of the old man.

"humph," he grumbled and seemed to be in a very bad mood, so minho bowed and bit his lip uneasily.

"he's a little bit deaf, dear," granny bent over to whisper into her grandson's ear and made him jump, "it's a shame you've grown up to be a scaredy cat, dear. there's nothing you need to worry about while you're here," her high voice creaked again and she went on upstairs after patting his back with a discoloured bony hand.

minho took a deep breath in to calm himself. the old man was still staring at him with lazy eyes and he looked kind of scary. maybe he was associating minho with noise or annoying questions. he sent him a small smile and trailed after the woman again.

minho started looking around the staircase to distract himself from the creepy elders until he reached the second floor. there was a big window that was open wide on the second floor of the staircase, and an image suddenly floated through his mind of him and his little brother on the windowsill, looking down.

"this is your room," granny's unpleasant voice disturbed his recollections and minho nodded mechanically, snapping himself out of his thoughts, "it was my son's," she opened a thick wooden door in front of him to reveal a big, simply furnished room with peachy curtains and a bedspread of the same colour.

"thank you, granny," minho smiled and dropped his bag down on the floor.

"granny?," a quiet voice reached minho's ears from behind the woman's tall and slender figure, "who rang the bell?," it asked again and minho had to stop and think of where he knew it from.

"jisung," minho suddenly exclaimed and made a step around the old woman to see if he was correct. a small boy, a full head shorter than the lady, peeked from behind her and minho recognised the small face he had become used to not seeing.

"minho?," the shorter boy's voice broke and he was going to get closer to minho but he was stopped by a wrinkly hand on his shoulder.

"let him have some rest, boy," granny's squeaky voice scolded and she pinned her grey eyes onto her grandson's face insistently. he looked up fearfully and nodded, his excitement leaving him instantly.

"granny, it's okay. we haven't seen each other i-," minho started, trying to reassure both that his brother wasn't actually bothering him but the woman cut him off.

"no, you should get settled in. you can use the bathroom, he won't disturb you, he's in his room. i'll be around if you need me," she smiled from ear to ear and pushed jisung out, then followed after him, closing the door.

minho sat down on the bed, thinking of jisung and how he hadn't changed for all these years. he smiled as he took out his clothes to put them in the closet.

the room wasn't half as bad as the rest of the house. it smelled of stiff air but what else can one expect of a pair of seniors' house?

he thought of the inhabitants. they did look bizarre for sure but it was undoubtedly reassuring that he still had some family left after his parent's death.

after about half an hour, during which minho was looking at the bookshelf in his room and out of the window, the door suddenly creaked open and the old lady came in without any warning, startling minho again.

"we are going to have dinner now," she looked into his eyes with her sharp grey ones and he had nothing to do but nod.

"thank you, granny," he smiled and bit his lip. her coming in like that was bizarre but maybe it was just an old people thing. they didn't realise that there may be thousands of things one can do that needn't be seen by grandparents' prying eyes.

minho started going down the stairs slowly and heard the woman call jisung over as well. he came out seconds later and minho could see his whole body now. he had become very slim and his face looked pale, though he was usually kind of tan.

he was the same, but different. minho smiled and opened his mouth to say something as the shorter joined him but granny's bony hand caught his shoulder again.

"go open the windows of both rooms. you two need fresh air," she whispered and jisung disappeared.