alexithymia | l. hyunjae

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A car was parked at the roadside, infront of a house. Three figures walked out from it as they made a beeline for the door. The boy knocked. "I'm home!" he shouted. Later, the door was opened, revealing Mrs Ha with an apron and a spatula on her right hand. She smiled and hugged her son before her gaze landed on the two figures behind him. She pulled away.

"Oh? Look who's here. Hyerim and... " She trailed while eyeing Hyunjae upside down, trying to remember his name. "Hyunjae.. right?" Hyunjae chuckled softly then nodded his head to the elder woman. "Yes, maam. I'm will feel upset if you didn't remember me." He teased.

Mrs Ha laughed at his response then invited them to come inside. Hyunjae and Hyerim each took a seat at the sofa in the living room meanwhile Min went upstairs to change his clothes and take a shower.

"Dinner is almost ready but while waiting for me to serve them.. here have some fruits first." Mrs Ha came back from the kitchen then put a freshly cut fruits on the coffee table. "Thank you, auntie. I will eat this well." Hyerim thanked the elder then cheerfully took a bite. On the other hand, Hyunjae felt bad for disturbing the family's dinner time so he just sat there hesitantly, both eyes eyeing the fruits from afar. Truthfully, he was so hungry because he didn't get to eat anything after his meeting ended so the last meal he ate was breakfast (a tuna sandwiches and a canned coffee he bought at a convenience store near the HQ).

Mrs Ha noticed the ravenette's hesitation so she pushed the plate forward slightly to him. Hyunjae looked up and saw Mrs Ha's motherly smile and her hand gestured 'eat this, I know you're hungry'. He blushed of embarrassment then slightly nodded before adjusting his seat closer. He leaned forward and grabbed a few cuts of fruit.

"Eh? We have guests?" A voice suddenly said from the stairs, revealing Mr Ha. The two guests politely greeted him in which Mr Ha responded with a hand wave. He then took a sit beside his wife and joined them with the fruits. "What are you guys doing here?" Mr Ha asked. He took a mouthful cuts of fruit all at once before he was nudged by Mrs Ha at his side. "It was for the guests." She said shortly, sending glares to her husband.

The said guests chuckled. "Actually, my brother's friend came to pick me up from school but then we saw Min with his broken bicycle outside the school gate. So, we offered him a ride." Hyerim explained. While Hyerim, Mr Ha and Mrs Ha were engaged in the conversation, Hyunjae's eyes scanned the whole house silently. When he parked his car just now, he noticed a familiar car in the frontyard. At one glance, he immediately knew that it was Yoon's car so obviously Yoon was currently in the house as well. As he eagerly scanning, footsteps were heard walking down the stairs. Unknowingly, Hyunjae's face lit up and his smile widened.

Min appeared then his smile dropped almost instantly. He watched as Min made his way to them and took a sit. Hyunjae let out a soft sigh then leaned back on the sofa. What am I thinking? Pull yourself together! Lee Hyunjae! He scolded himself internally. When he rethought about it, he silently laughed. Why do I expect her to appear? Am I going crazy?

As the ravenette was having an internal debate with himself, Mrs Ha excused herself and went back into the kitchen.

"Everyone! The dinner is ready. Come here and take a sit." Her voice was heard from the kitchen. Mr Ha, Min, Hyerim and Hyunjae hurriedly on their feet and made their way to the dining table. Mr Ha sat at the furthest side of the table, infront of Mrs Ha. Min took a seat beside her mom meanwhile Hyunjae and Hyerim each sat at the first two seats, facing each other.

"Min, can you please call your sister to come down? Tell her the dinner is ready and everyone is waiting for her." Mrs Ha asked her son for a favour. Min sighed and whined at her mother. "Why me though? I am too hungry I can't walk anymore." His mom scoffed then stood up from her seat. "Why bother to have children if they don't listen to you. That's why people said there's no use in raising kids." Mr Ha threw a look at his son and silently sent signals through his eyes. 'Look what you have done, your mom is sulking.'

"I did the cooking, I did the serving and now I have to call people for dinner too." Mrs Ha deeply sighed. "Later on, I will also have to wash all the dishes. Oh my, am I the only person in this house?" She continued to nag.

Min threw a look back at his father and answered him through his eyes too. 'How should I know she will get sulky?' Mr Ha shook his head then sighed. "Hmm, maam? Don't worry, I will call her instead, you can sit back." Out of nowhere, Hyunjae offered himself.

Mrs Ha widely smiled and clapped her hands. "Omo! You're a very good kid. Your mom must be so proud of you. Aigoo I wish I had a son like you, Hyunjae." She said while glaring at her son. "Mom! I'm offended." Min answered. "Deserves you right." Mrs Ha chuckled then took her seat.

Hyunjae excused himself then made his way upstairs to Yoon's bedroom. As he reached upstairs, he suddenly stopped walking and remembered something. How should I know which is her bedroom? He frowned and decided to just roaming through the hallway. Later, he saw a door that had a hanging board with cute stickers on it. Hyunjae walked closer and read the writing on the board. Ha Yoon's.

Fortunately, the luck was in his side so he dumped his previous thoughts which was to knock and open every single door he found. He cleared his throat before knocking on the door but there was no answer. Thinking, she must didn't hear him or she was asleep, Hyunjae knocked a little bit more louder but still he couldn't get any response from her. A thought was on his mind but he quickly dodged it then walked away. It is rude to just open the door and barge in without permission, he thought. As he was on his way to go downstairs and tell the family that he couldn't get Yoon out, a door was opened out of nowhere. Hyunjae was so shocked that he almost fell backwards, eyes widened.

But the fact that he was so shocked was not due to the sudden door opening, instead he stumbled upon Yoon who just walked out from the bathroom, in a loose white shirt and a shorts. She looked like she just finished showering due to the towel on her damp hair. As soon as their eyes locked, they stared at each other before Yoon let out a scream then hide herself behind the wall.

"What the heck are you doing here?!".
"H-huh? Oh.. hm actual-"
"Are you trespassing my house, you pervert?!"

Hyunjae was too taken aback back by the two accusations that he could not utter any word to defend himself.

"Excuse me? Who are you to call me perverts?" He answered. Yoon sent a glare to him from behind the wall. "Then stop staring, stupid." She said. Without realising, Hyunjae did stared at her plus the blushes on his cheeks, did not make the situation any better. He cleared his throat and turned around with his back towards the girl before taking a very deep breath. He felt like his heartbeats were beating too loud that he was afraid the girl could hear it.

"Answer me."

Hyunjae peeked slightly over his shoulder. "Huh?" Yoon groaned and asked him again, with a slightly loud voice. "What are you doing here. In my house. At this hour. Near my bedroom?". "Okay, hear me out. I'm not a trespasser and also not a pervert. I just dropped off your brother from school because his bike's broken and your mom invited me to dinner and she also asked me to call for you. Is that clear?" He explained.

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