Parfait

Chapter Twenty

It had been a perfectly ordinary evening. Some of the band members were due to arrive home soon, but Hana had already eaten her dinner alone and had settled on the couch with a crochet project. The Lee twins had helped her find a nice yarn shop, so she had agreed to make something for them, too. The first soft scarf in the bold red yarn they had chosen was almost done- she had just started on the last row when the text alert came through.

???: Is this still Seo Hana's number?

SHN: Yes, who is this?

???: Oh thank god, I thought Eomma might lie to me. Hana, it's Haneul. Can I call you?

Hana found that her hands were shaking as she replied in the affirmative. Why was Haneul contacting her now? Her sister had left home just days after graduating from high school, their father unwilling to tolerate another adult alpha under his roof. That was five years ago- or was it more like six? Supposedly Haneul kept in touch with their mother every few months, but not once had Hana heard from her personally. They had a difficult relationship as teenagers and the omega had just figured that was the end of things for them.

Haneul's voice sounded exactly the same when they tentatively greeted one another. Thankfully, she did not make her younger sister wait long before getting to the chase. "Hana, are you really in Seoul?" she asked. "Eomma said you had a job she wasn't allowed to talk about."

"I am, and I do," Hana confirmed, still a little reticent to ask why she cared.

The questioning continued, though. "So you're out of Appa's house?" Haneul asked, a strange muffled noise coming out of the phone when that too was confirmed. "Hana, can... can I see you sometime? I live in Seoul, now. Maybe we could have lunch tomorrow, we can catch up and you could tell me about your new job? I have the day off."

"Unnie, um..." Hana didn't know how to say no to her sister. And she was not entirely sure she wanted to, either. "I can't just talk about my job. You'd have to sign a bunch of paperwork saying that you wouldn't share information about where I work or who I work with. That's why Eomma couldn't tell you more, too."

"Then can I do that?" Haneul was all but pleading. Had Hana ever heard her do that before? "Please? I don't know if you'll believe me, but... I missed you."

That was certainly not what she had expected to hear, but Hana missed her sister, too. And it was worth a shot. "I have to ask my boss, but I'm supposed to be allowed to tell immediate family members as long as they sign the NDA. Can I text you when I know the details?"

The first thing she did after hanging up was send a text to Jo Ahnjong, who despite it being after work hours immediately replied that the paperwork could be ready the next day. Plans were made to meet at the company, although Hana only sent her sister the address and not the name. Hopefully, after signing all the forms, they would go out and have a nice reunion.

Hana couldn't return to her crochet project after. Her hands were still too unsteady. She picked up the phone to send another message instead. There was one other person who might understand her jumbled mess of feelings thanks to her complicated relationship with Haneul; she had to tell Jungkook.

SHN: I just got a call from unnie.

JJK: Which one? Are the twins done with their alpha's rut now?

SHN: No, Googie, my unnie. Haneul.

JJK: Oh. OH. You said you didn't talk anymore though? Is everything okay?

SHN: I think so. It didn't sound like she had bad news or anything. She just said she lives in Seoul now, so when Eomma told her that I was here she wanted to meet up. She's coming to the company to sign the NDA tomorrow.