"What if I said I have met you before."
"What do you mean."
"I mean we were lovers in the past."
"..........Fu*k off dude"
They were meant to cross their paths again, a story left incomplete was meant to be completed in this life or was this??
A Na...
Fear, fear is what Jia'er could feel spreading through his nerves as he spaced out standing near the door waiting for Jin to grace him with his presence without any wound.
As Jia'er stood there gawking at the wooden entrance standing tall across the beautiful garden his mother once adored left in his grandmother's care now.
A woman not only he but the whole village feared, the women even in her 70's stood tall as an old banyan tree, respected and revered for her wits and intelligence which had proved to save the village over times something seems to be passed down the generation and can be reflected in her son and even her eldest grandson.
A splitting image of Jin full of poise and grace and she was the sole reason why Jia'er felt like running away, if Jin didn't get back in next 15 minutes.
The old lady had already asked him thrice about her dearest grandson's absence and no number of excuses and buttering could appease her as much as seeing her grandson in flesh in front of her, cunning indeed.
Jia'er shifted his weight from one foot to another, biting on his fingernail as his other hand fiddled with his shirt. It had already been 4 hours since he had returned home after making sure Jia'er had reached his home safely. And still there was no sign of his hyung. Usually, Jin would be home by this time. Jia'er waited anxiously looking over people who were returning to their homes after work. The sun had already set, the wind getting harsher day by day with the arriving autumn, the orange sky was turning dark like the fallen autumn leaves at the time of harvest.
Jia'er was relieved that the old matriarch was busy setting up the dining area for dinner, but until when???
As he was busy pacing around the front, he was late to notice the old man entering the garden closing the fence door behind him walking straight towards his second oldest noticing his lack of attention, "Who are you waiting here for".
"N..no..no one dad", Jia'er was startled by the sudden voice, his fear slipping clearly from his body language. The man was tense enough to understand that if Jin was not home in the next 5 mins, they would know all about his adventure in the forest. The forest that people feared to have flesh eating demons.
"Obviously he is waiting for Jin.", the matriarch answered, as she moved around to stand next to Jia'er from behind.
"Isn't it too late? He is usually back by this time even if he stays back for a little time."
"My child is busy with his meditation, let him be, I am so sure he will soon surpass his grandfather, you know Jia'er your grandfather achieved all his chakras at the age of 35.", the lady might always carry a strict demeanor with a blank face but every time she talked about her family, her eyes sparkled the brightest. A longing to join her husband and a wish to see her grandson taking over the clan before she passed away, "I hope you are working hard like your brother".
"Yes Grandma, I am working hard, I will make you proud." she smiled proudly patting his head as she again disappeared behind the kitchen doors to bring in the last of the dishes.
Everything was arranged around the small table which could easily accommodate 6 members. Jia'er helped his grandma arrange the utensils as he sat beside his father who was pouring drinks for himself while waiting for his mom to pass him the soup bowl which she was filling with tofu congee.
"Mom where are the little devils?" the old man asked, taking the bowl from his mother's hand.
"They ate early and went to bed. They said they were tired and wanted to rest early."
Jia'er kept stealing glances at the entrance, waiting anxiously for his hyung to come back unscathed. His heart was beating faster by each passing second, he had never felt this anxious for someone and the guilt of leaving his hyung alone in the forest was eating him up, making him lose his appetite.
He had imagined all that could happen to Jin. And this wasn't helping him from keeping himself from telling his father. But he was forbidden to do so by Jin to save Jia'er from their father's wrath which was much scarier than that was his older brother. But was it more important than his brother's safety? With determination Jia'er placed his bowl and chopsticks on the table a little too strongly to the liking of the elders gaining their attention.
"Appa Jin hyung......hy...hyung isn't ho... home yet because he...he"
"Appa, grandma, oppa we are back."
"Appa, see what we have got for you", two sweet, high-pitched voices grabbed the three's attention, stopping their action mid-air. Two 5-year-olds with identical soft facial features matching the two brothers, dressed in beautiful yellow and pink hanboks which had very similar flower patterns, now smothered with dirt and leaves together with their faces and a messy flower crown on their head, which just added to their adorableness. They each had two flower crowns which looked freshly knitted in one hand. The other hands were held delicately in the palms of the man whose sight made Jia'er take a breath of relief seeing his hyung standing without any visible scratch as he held on to the twins looking unbothered and majestic as ever.
"I saw these two-devil sneaking out the back door when I returned so I had to go fetch these two before they had created any trouble.", Jin said calmly as the twins speedily approached them with the flower crowns, each going towards the elder and placing the crowns on their head with a puppy eye knowing very well how to cool them off. Jia'er chuckled with a sigh of relief as he looked upon his younger sisters' antics.
Jin came back washing his hands settling down beside Jia'er, "What took you so long? You aren't hurt anywhere, right?", Jia'er grumbled in Jin's ear not even letting the not so poor soul speak, "Will you speak? Dammit! I am so sorry. I shouldn't have gone in the forest.", Jia'er blabbered softly, fidgeting with his fingers, his knees bouncing with anxiousness as he begged for mercy knowing very well how angry his hyung might be from inside but waiting to unleash it when they two were alone, he kept pleading as his eyes guarded against the mother son duo trying to be as discreet as possible, who were too engaged in scolding the pouting twins lightly and deciding their punishment ignoring their puppy eyes to notice Jia'er's whispering.
Jin patted Jia'er's Shoulder lightly gaining his whole attention, "Thank you", he whispered softly, his stoic face going soft, a small smile gracing his handsome face as he looked at Jia'er's dumbfounded expression. Jia'er couldn't digest his brother's smiling face especially when he was expecting his wrath.
The girls rushed back. Creating chaos just like the ones being displayed on Jia'er's face. They placed the remaining two flower crowns on their brother's head, "Why is he making such weird faces?" They giggled with a mischievous glint in their eyes before running to sit near their brother while the two elders sat across from them.
Jia'er tried his best to digest the new scene of his older sibling piling his plate with food with the help of the twins who loved mirroring their oldest brother. The elders could only smile as they admired their bond while Jia'er had again lost his appetite. But he forced the food in his mouth just like the smile on his face.
"I feel like a scrap goat.", Jia'er whispered under his breath, concluding his brother was playing a psychological trick to punish him by being all sweet and happy. And it sure was working.
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Editor: aster_inthesea 😘
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