Nocturnal Buddies ✩ Yang Jeongin

Chapter 15

A single knock caused Hyunjoo to stir from the tiredness that had won over, despite how much she tried to fight against it. She slowly straightened her posture, eyes immediately falling to the uncompleted work scattered on her desk, before shifting her attention towards the door. It cracked open before her dad peered his head into the room to see what his daughter was doing. Once his eyes landed on her, he gave her a warm smile.

"Hey sweetheart, would you mind making dinner tonight? I'm not really feeling good at the moment."

Hyunjoo nodded in response, hands rubbing her eyes to get rid of the exhaustion trying to take over again. Minjoon watched his daughter stand up from her chair before she stumbled over to the door. Her eyelids momentarily fell shut before she pried them open, scanning over his overall well-being.

"Do you need anything?" she muttered, voice clearly coaxed with tiredness.

His lips immediately curved up into an endearing smile before he shook his head. "No, I'm just feeling more lethargic than usual. I think I'll just relax in the living room for the time being."

The girl hummed in acknowledgment as she nodded her head, fingers running through her hair. "I'll go make dinner after I take care of some stuff."

Minjoon nodded in response before departing from her room. She returned to her desk, and organized the papers laid on top of the glass surface, before leaving her room seconds later. As she closed the door behind her, she could hear Sohee's laughter echoing from her bedroom and into the hallway. Her attention shifted towards the laundry room, realizing the washing machine was done. With hesitation, she went to her sister's room before softly knocking on it.

"What?" Sohee's voice sounded from inside, irritation filling it to the brim.

Hyunjoo's hand landed on the knob before she slowly opened the door. She peeked her head into the room, before her eyes landing on the girl lying on her bed seconds later. Sohee's head turned towards the door with glaring eyes, as she looked at her older sister with the utmost annoyance.

"Would you mind putting the clothes in the dryer?" she quietly asked, not wanting set her sister off anymore.

"Oh my gosh, why do I need to do it?" Sohee groaned, eyes rolling out of habit.

"Because I'm going to make dinner, so... someone needs to do it," Hyunjoo explained.

"Why can't you do it after then? Or ask Dohyun or dad to do it," the younger girl refuted.

"You know Dohyun can't reach the bottom of the machine, and dad's tired."

"Hah, and I'm tired as well. I always have to do so much around the house because of you, so just do it yourself!"

Hyunjoo cringed at her sister's sudden raise in tone, being completely aware that she was on call with one of her friends. She wasn't entirely sure if the younger girl had muted or not, and the thought of them possibly hearing made her uncomfortable.

"Sohee, please, it'll only take a second," she practically muttered under her breath.

"Then you can do it yourself, can't you?!" the younger girl erupted. She sprung up from her spot as she opted to grab a pillow, ready to throw it at her sister.

"Okay, okay, I'll just do it," the older girl ultimately gave in, too tired to actually put up a fight with her own sister.

She pulled the door closed as Sohee started to rant to herself, complaining about the responsibilities Hyunjoo failed to complete. An exasperated sigh fell from the older girl's lips before she dragged herself to the kitchen. As she was passing by the living room, she caught her dad's attention, who was seconds from dozing off.