Paper Lilies | Jeong Yunho

07

Yunho's POV

ring, ring, ring.

6:30 A.M.

I turn off the digital clock on my bedside table before rolling around the soft mattress. I started to drift back to my sleep until another noise had interrupt.

Ten continuous knocks on the door.

"Yunho! Wake up! We have school today!"

Another ten knocks on the door.

I groan on my pillow and decided to get up from bed. I walk to the door still sleepy, twisting the knob before opening it wide and seeing a grinning Wooyoung already in a school uniform. His smile contorts into a disgusted one and points at my face.

"Ew, is that saliva on your cheek?"

I rub my shirt collar on the place where Wooyoung is pointing at before rubbing my eyes and escape a yawn.

"Why are you so early? And what's with the energy?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I just have a task to do," he grins again before pushing me back on my room, "Now go take a shower and change! I want us to be early today!"

San's POV

"Did you see Nari?" I ask Jongho who was wearing a school uniform like mine while eating ramen.

"Nope, I guess she left pretty early. Only taking an apple and orange from the fruit basket," he points at the basket at the center of the big table. four apples, seven oranges. I notice that it was indeed missing an apple and orange because there was five apples and eight oranges last night.

"What about Aunt Cara?"

"She said about going to Jeju for a while because she had some 'business' to do," he replies, emphasizing the word business. I nod my head and sat on the chair to join my brother.

What?

You're wondering about how we noticed a missing apple and orange?

Well, you see, our family has very observant eyes.

Especially the Kangs.

"Ayo, my non-favourite cousins. Did grumpy aunt leave? I don't see her tall skinny sandals on the shoe cabinet."

And there's one.

"Yeosang hyung? Why are you so early? I thought you'd come later with your parents," a surprised Jongho asks with his mouth full.

Yeosang stands with his arms crossed at the entrance that connects the dinning room and living room. Me and my brother peek behind him and see the housemaid lifting his bag and luggage upstairs.

"Oh, about that, mom and dad had some kind of business trip in Japan for about two weeks so I'll be staying here for now and since I don't have school today, why not come here early?" he shrugs his shoulders and skips to us. He grabs an apple from the fruit basket and takes a bite on it.

"Wow, does that mean it's just us now?"Jongho gasp before his lips curl up into a cheeky grin.

"Grumpy aunt ain't here too?"

"Yeah, she left for some business too," I reply as I stuff a chopstick of noodles in my mouth.

"That's great then, no grumpy woman in the household," Yeosang takes another bite of his apple, grinning to himself as he skips to the living room. He turns left, disappearing from our sight while my brother and I continue eating.

"Oh! By the way-"

We both avert our eyes from our ramen bowl to the door where Yeosang is peeking at us with a questioning look.

"Is Nari upstairs?" he asks, then I shake my head as an answer.

"She left early to her school, that selfless girl didn't wanted to skip class when I told her to because her allergy was acting up," I sigh with a frown on my face, "she must've left early so she won't have to argue with me."

"Shit, did she go to the garden again? The last time she did was when she picked out flowers and gave it to me on my birthday," Yeosang tap his finger on his chin while looking up, "this must be important then."

"Are you saying you're important?"

"When was I not?"

The next thing I knew, a sponge ball was thrown at Yeosang's head.

"Ow! What the heck was that for, Choi Jongho?!"

I glance at Jongho who was standing up from his seat, taking his plate to the kitchen while humming to himself. I look back to Yeosang who was burning holes at my brother's back. Before a volcano could explode, I stood up putting a hand in front of Yeosang.

"Woah, woah, woah there, Mr. Kang. My brother and I have school today and I don't want to see any murder right now so could you please calm down and take a rest upstairs?" I politely ask. Yeosang snorts at my common behaviour. He bows at me 90 degrees and replies with "okay, your Highness."

We both laugh at each other before he leaves to unpack his things upstairs.