Mae

Chapter 2

"Aren't you boys supposed to be practising?" Mae in a teasing tone.

All five of them stopped at once and came over to greet her. Hueningkai, who was in the same year as her brother Jake, bounced over and hugged her tightly.

"Mae, they were teasing me," he whimpered.

"Oh, were they? Don't be bullies now," she playfully scolded the older members.

"Yes Eomma," Beomgyu sarcastically shot back.

Mae's phone pinged and she quickly checked it. The text was from her roommate Eunjoo, who was in the same year as Yeonjun.

"Yeonjun, Eunjoo says you're late to practise your competition group dance again."

"Right," the elder said as he grabbed his bag and bounded out of the door.

Mae walked past the boys crowding at the door and sat down next to a pile of open books and notes while the rest of the group returned to their tasks. Hueningkai took his position at the keyboard and began to play 'Summer' by Joe Hisaishi, his favourite piece. Beomgyu lay down on the floor and proceeded to fall asleep with a thick textbook as a pillow, while Taehyun and Soobin joined Mae by the pile of books and papers.

"What do you two need help with?"

"I haven't actually started yet," Soobin admitted.

"Well ask me if you need assistance," Mae sighed as she pulled out a pair of pointe shoes from her bag.

She rested her head on Soobin's broad shoulder and started sewing pink ribbons onto the satin shoes. Soobin hummed softly accompanied by Hueningkai on the piano as he solved quadratic equations.

After sewing the ribbons onto one shoe, Mae moved to the next. Halfway through sewing the last ribbon, she pricked her finger and a bright bead of blood swelled on her finger. Mae flinched and bit her lip at the sudden pain. Soobin looked up from his calculations with concern in his eyes.

"Are you alright Mae?" he asked.

"Yeah," she responded before quickly looking away to hide her tears.

What she desperately needed was a rest. Mae checked the time. It was getting late.

She finished sewing the last ribbon on her shoes then announced, "I'm going to head off to my dorm now, goodnight," before hugging Soobin, ruffling Hueningkai's hair and exiting the room. 

⋆ ♫ ♪ ♫ ⋆

Mae groggily reached for her phone as her 6am alarm went off. She didn't want to wake her roommate, Eunjoo, earlier than necessary. After showering and changing into her uniform, she exited the dorm and headed to the cafeteria. Breakfast was a small affair so early in the morning. Mae soon finished and went to practise her contemporary dance before school officially started.

Mae's first block was chemistry, and as she excelled in science, she would join in with the senior year. She had made friends with Jungkook in that class, but his attendance was terrible. He probably wouldn't even show up today, but that was okay. Mr Adams would let her read a book once she had finished her work.

Chemistry flew past. Mae was so engrossed in the chemical structure and production of spiderwebs, that when she looked up, it was almost time for morning break. Learning about spiders had made her feel closer to her father, and a feeling of loneliness washed over her as she exited the classroom.
Mae spotted her best friend in the crush of students and slowly made her way to the table where he was sitting. She was just about to open her chocolate milk when her phone started ringing. She checked the caller ID. It was Grandma.

"Soobin, Grandma is calling. I'll have to answer it. I'll be out in the hallway."

"Grandma?" Mae asked as she answered the phone.

"Hello Miss Mae."

Mae could hear the smile in her grandma's voice.

"And what may you be calling for?"

"I found a briefcase in the attic that you might want to see. It used to be your father's. It has a few photos in it."

Mae smiled. Her grandma knew how much she missed her father.

"Sure. I would love to have it."

"I'll meet you at the tea shop by the corner. I'm just getting in the car now."

Mae met Grandma at the tea shop soon after. Soobin had pouted and reasoned with her to let him come, but Mae guessed that Grandma wasn't telling her everything over the phone, she wouldn't just suggest they meet in person otherwise. Mae wanted to meet her grandma one-on-one and so ignored Soobin's pouting and sent him off to eat his lunch with Yeonjun.

Mae sat down opposite Grandma in front of a chai latte, her favourite.

"You know me too well," she told her grandma as she sipped the drink.

"You're just like your father, Young Missie," replied Grandma as she put down the quantum physics book she was studying, "it keeps the dementia away," she tapped her head.

Mae smiled, "we have to be quick. I promised Soobin that he wouldn't have to live too long without me."

"And how could I forget about him? I made his favourite cookies for you two to eat at school. They don't expect you to live off carrots and lettuce now do they?"

"Grandma, they feed us well at school."

"Not well enough. You and Soobin will eat the cookies. And give some to the rest of your crew. Hueningkai is shooting up and the poor boy needs something to fill him out."

"Yes Grandma," Mae chuckled

"I also have a brownie for Jake and his friends."

"I'll pass it on," Mae internally rolled her eyes. 

"Good. Now I have this briefcase with photos in it. Your father gave it to me when you came over on the plane with me. I put it in the attic, thinking nothing more of it, but today I was cleaning and found it again. I looked through it and noticed the photos had symbols on it. I thought you might be able to do something with them."

"I can have a look. It must be important. Dad wouldn't just send any old briefcase."

"That's my girl," Grandma winked. 

Mae's phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and answered the video call.

"Hi," smiled Soobin.

"Come on. I'll be back soon," Mae openly rolled her eyes now. 

"Can I say hi to Grandma? Please?"

Mae sighed and handed over the phone.

Grandma put on her glasses and asked, "Are you eating well, My Boy?"

"No Grandma. I've been horribly starved. Only ramen and kimchi pancakes for breakfast today, and no dessert yesterday."

"I'm on the job. Cookies are coming soon and more will be on the way. I can't live with starving boys going hungry," Grandma winked as she handed the phone back to Mae.

Mae looked at Soobin but he just smiled innocently.

"Look, I'm coming back right now. Surely Yeonjun is good enough company."

"Yes. But I miss you," he whined.

Mae hung up and her grandma handed her the briefcase.

"Keep it secret in case it turns out to be something," Grandma whispered as Mae tucked the case under her shoulder.

Mae nodded and Grandma gave her a large container of chocolate chip cookies and a plate of brownies.

"Goodbye now Dear. And don't forget to tell me if that boy of yours is hungry."

Mae blushed and Grandma winked as she walked out the door.