The Twin | Kim Gyuvin ZB1

2 Her Twin

After soccer team practice, Gyuvin stopped by the convenience store to get his favourite energy drink. A girl wearing all-black and carrying a black school bag was grabbing a drink from the same section, so he stood next to her and waited. As she closed the fridge door and turned around, she met eyes with Gyuvin.

"Uh aren't you Siyoung's sister?" Gyuvin immediately recognised her and greeted her eagerly. "I'm Gyuvin, Siyoung's friend."

The girl didn't seem too happy about being held up. She stared at him for a few seconds before continuing her way to the cashier, leaving Gyuvin in a daze.

Did she just ignore him?

He looked at the girl unbelievably, still unable to process what just happened. He saw that she was leaving the store, so he ran up to her and stood in her way.

"It's not like I've mistaken you for someone. You are Siyoung's twin sister. Why did you ignore me just now?"

She furrowed her brows slightly and went around him to get to the exit.

Gyuvin gasped as he watched the girl leave after ignoring him twice in a row.

"That obnoxious..." He held himself back from cursing. He shouldn't be losing his manners for someone like her, but still, "How can someone be so rude?"

The scene replayed time and time again in his head, and he couldn't shrug off the feeling of being offended for the rest of the night.

.

Siyoung had invited her group of friends to hang out at her house over the weekend, partly because her mother had been wanting to meet Gyuvin. The Ryu's house was located in a rich neighbourhood, 30 minutes walk from Duri High School, the school that Siyoung and Siwon were attending.

"Omo Siyoung-ah, your house is beautiful." Joohee exclaimed as Siyoung led everyone into her house through the front garden.

It was a two-storey house with a concrete and wood facade. After they entered the house, they walked through a hallway to a double-height living room. The natural sunlight that entered through the floor-to-ceiling windows made the space look even more spacious. The whole house had a modern aesthetic, with its interior adorned with a palette of white and different shades of grey. It looked like one of those show homes you would see on the internet.

Siyoung's mom came walking down the stairs when she heard the noise in the living room. Everyone immediately greeted her and introduced themselves one by one.

"Annyeonghaseyo, I'm Kim Gyuvin. I'm in the same class as Siyoung."

"Gyuvin. I've heard a lot about you from Siyoung." Mrs. Ryu's eyes glistened upon hearing Gyuvin's name. The boy left a good impression at first glance.

"Eomma..." Siyoung's cheeks and ears were flushed. She wasn't expecting her mom to expose her like that.

"She told me that you're very good at studying." Mrs. Ryu ignored her daughter's signal and continued.

"Siyoung's just being nice."

"You're being too humble. It's a pity you couldn't join Siyoung's study group."

"Ah... Thank you so much for offering though."

"Okay, okay." Mrs.Ryu finally stopped blabbering after Siyoung kept looking at her with an uncomfortable look. "I'll leave you guys to it then. I'll ask the helpers to bring you some snacks and drinks as well."

"Thank you." The kids all said collectively.

"Sorry if my mom put you on the spot just now." Siyoung said to Gyuvin after her mom left.

"No, don't worry." Gyuvin gave her a reassuring smile.

"Siyoung-ah, you only talked to your mom about Gyuvin?" Joohee smirked cheekily.

"No, I told her about all of you!" Siyoung quickly denied.

"Moms tend to only remember the ones who are good at studying. That's probably why." Seungeon's interpretation of the situation had unknowingly saved Siyoung.

"Is your sister at home?" Gyuvin asked. He still couldn't get over Siyoung's sister's rude behaviour last time. Ryu Siwon; he finally learnt her name after hearing people compare her to Siyoung in school a few days ago.

"No, she isn't. Don't worry."

Worried? He wasn't worried though.

"She is never home." Minah butted in. Whenever she talked about Siwon, there was obvious contempt in her tone.

"Where does she go if she's never home?" Seungeon asked.

"That... I'm not too sure." A feeling of unease creeped up on Siyoung again.

"Definitely not going to be somewhere we would want to be." Minah scoffed. "She's probably affiliated with bad guys. That's why you should keep your distance from her."

"Yeah, I heard that she was in a gang of some sort. And she does kind of give off that vibe; she scares me a bit." Joohee shuddered. "But do your parents not care?" Not being aware of her whereabouts would be enough to make her mother awfully worried, not to mention hanging around people who are bad influences.

"She's already beyond their control."

"I think the teachers also gave up on her. My friend in her class said that she basically sleeps through all the classes and never hands in her homework." Seungeon added.

"How did you two grow up to become such different people in the same household?" Yujin was just curious about how that could have happened. He understood that they were two individuals with distinct personalities, but to this degree? Something didn't sit right with him.

And he had a point. How did a pair of twin sisters, nurtured under the same roof, become complete opposites?

Yujin wasn't alone in thinking this. Gyuvin, despite having heard of all those rumours in school, wouldn't use the word 'scary' to describe Siwon, even though he agreed that the girl was far, far, far from likeable.

Arghhh! The thought of Siwon was making him irritated again. He had met far more disagreeable and annoying people in school before: spoiled brats, attention seekers, slackers... He could easily ignore them and even go to the extent of confronting the big bullies at school. But now he was the one being ignored, and there was nothing he could do about it. He felt pathetic for taking this personally.