the pizza girl | p.js

13-a family reunion

It was Christmas morning and Heeyeon woke up in a different room sharing a bed with a girl that favored her in appearance. "Heejin! Wake up, it's Christmas!" She whisper-shouted into her younger sister's ear. Heejin groaned loudly in annoyance until she realized what Heeyeon had just said. Then she jumped up full of life.

The girls shared a room because their mom's older brother also came and he brought his sons. Jaehyun and Sungchan. Jaehyun was a few years older than the girls but he still acted like he was their age. Sungchan was only a year older than Heeyeon so they got along pretty well.

It was almost a full Jung Family reunion but one of their aunts couldn't make it and her son (Heeyeon's favorite cousin) wasn't there either. It wasn't the same without them but she wasn't going to let that ruin Christmas. She and Heejin ran across the hallway to wake their cousins up. Heeyeon was surprised to see the door open so quickly.

"Help, I've been trying to wake him up for hours" Sungchan said in exasperation. The girls gladly oblige by grabbing pillows and hitting the sleeping figure unrelentingly. "Get up Jeffrey, it's Christmas." Heeyeon shouts. Jaehyun swiftly snatches the pillow and smacks her with it letting loud chuckles fill the room.

Jaehyun adopted the English name, Jeffrey, four years ago. Sungchan and Heeyeon haven't stopped clowning him since. Even his favorite little cousin Heejin would join in on the teasing from time to time. Only because she knew he couldn't stay mad at her.

Now that Jaehyun was up, the four cousins make their way downstairs to wake their parents and greet their grandparents. The Hee sisters walk into their mother's room. She was already up and sitting on the side of her bed. As they got closer they heard sniffles. "Girls, come here." She called out.

"I want you to know that I love you so much and I wish things could have been different for you. For both of you. And don't you dare think for a second that anything that happened was ever your fault. It wasn't anybody's fault but his." She said clutching her daughters' hands. "I love you both so much" she kissed them both on the forehead.

"Now, let's go open some presents."

~

After the gift exchange, the adults went into the kitchen to prepare Christmas dinner. Leaving the cousins to play games and talk. "So, what's the tea with everybody?" Sungchan asked. He and Jaehyun had been away at college so this question applies to everybody. "High school is trash. I'm ready to get out of there." Heejin said. Everybody nodded their head in agreement. She was speaking straight facts. 

"Oh, and Heeyeon is dating someone!" She chirped proudly. Heeyeon nearly choked on air. "Hmm, I figured that out last night. Why else would she be wearing a necklace with the letter J on it? It's definitely not for me." Jaehyun stated. He was normally the chill, rational cousin so this reaction was expected from him. 

"Oooouuuu! What's his name?" Sungchan is now intrigued. "Jisung, and he's actually...my boyfriend now." She whispered the last part because she got shy. "Aww, our little Hee Hee has a boyfriend!!" Jaehyun teased. She swiftly raised her hand in the air and brought it back down across his arm, making him wince in pain. 

"That's enough about that. How's college been for you guys? How are your roommates?" Heeyeon asked. One thing that has always scared her about college is the possibility that she could end up sharing a living space with a complete stranger. "Surprisingly chill" Jaehyun stated. 

"College itself is a whirlwind but you just have to know how to manage yourself and you'll be fine. And as far as my roommate goes...I have three. My friend Johnny and I were looking for places close to campus because we didn't want to stay in dorms, and he knew these other people who were also looking for a place, Taeyong and Doyoung. Basically, we all put our money together and we ended up being able to afford the rent. Everyone just had to do their part." 

"Okay, that calms my fears a little bit." She says turning to Sungchan. He had a lot in common with her so she felt like she would resonate more with him. "Oh, my experience has actually been quite wonderful. Good ol' Jeffrey here has done an amazing job at looking out for his little brother. I do stay on campus and thankfully, I only have one roommate."

"He's a foreign exchange student named Shotaro. He is so cool! He dances and he's like crazy good at it. He's also super nice, he even teaches me Japanese. We get along pretty well. I think all of you would take a liking to him." Sungchan stated proudly. He was proud of his new friend. 

Heeyeon sighed in relief. Not only was she worried about herself and her experience, but she was worried about her cousins. Some crazy stuff can go down in college and she was just glad to hear that they were doing alright. Thinking about the future normally scared her. She never really had what you'd call a "stable life" especially after she had to flee from her father. 

"Food's ready!" Uncle called out to everyone. They all jumped up to help set the table and claim seats. The food was served and it looked amazing. Heeyeon saw fried chicken and she was brought back to the night that she and Jisung shared a box of it before their study session. The hot chocolate only made her think about him more. She missed him so much and it had only been a week. 

"Heeyeon, I hear you have a boyfriend?" Her aunt chimes. Heeyeon slowly nodded her head. Everybody's eyes were still on the food but their ears were all perked to hear her answer. "Umm, yes ma'am." She said nervously. "How'd you meet him?" Uncle chimed in.

"Well, I met him through school, actually work. I delivered a pizza to his house then I met him officially at school. I was his tutor for the math exam, which we both passed, by the way. He would come by after I got off work and I would help him study. He would even bring me dinner sometimes. It was really sweet. And before you worry, Chenle was my supervisor. I repeat, Chenle was also there most of the time." She whispered that last bit. 

"Anyways, we took a liking to each other and he's been very good to me. He's such a gentleman too. He walks me to the car, holds the doors, he doesn't rush me or speak to me brashly. He's very gentle and kind...unlike someone else." Heeyeon's whole family knew what went down with her ex. They protested Heeyeon moving away until they learned of the reasons why. It was the most angered she had ever seen Jaehyun. Uncle was mad himself but he had to put his own anger aside to calm Jaehyun. It was a scary thing to see. 

"Heeyeon we all trust you to make good decisions and take care of yourself, but please, don't make me have to kill anyone." Jaehyun warned. "Okayyyy, let's eat!!" Heejin shouted suddenly. She didn't like being reminded of the events that took her sister away from her. Out of everyone, Heejin was the most afraid during that situation next to Heeyeon. She was beyond worried for her sister's safety. 

~

The next morning it was time to head back. Heeyeon didn't want to leave but she knew she'd have to. She promised herself she wouldn't cry though. And she didn't she stayed strong...until she got in her car. She had missed all of these people so much. Everybody showered her with affection and words of affirmation as they left. Sungchan and Jaehyun gave her extremely comforting hugs. The last time they hugged her like that is when they found out what happened. 

It reminded her so much of that night...